Crime
14-month-old Elliot Whitaker raped and murder by Easton Vance in Kingsport
A 14-month-old child died following a violent incident in Kingsport, Tennessee, prompting a homicide investigation and the indictment of a 20-year-old man on multiple felony charges, authorities confirmed.
According to the Kingsport Police Department (KPD), officers and emergency responders were dispatched on October 21, 2024, to a residence in the 3800 block of Eastline Drive after receiving a report of an unresponsive child.
Upon arrival, first responders located 14-month-old Elliot Whitaker unresponsive inside the residence.
Life-saving measures were immediately initiated, and the child was transported to Indian Path Medical Center, where he was later pronounced deceased.
An autopsy was conducted at the Williams L. Jenkins Forensic Center, where the medical examiner determined that the child had suffered severe and extensive injuries.
The manner of death was officially ruled a homicide, according to investigative findings.
Following the investigation, a Sullivan County grand jury returned an indictment charging Easton Joshua Vance, 20, with multiple felony offenses in connection with the child’s death.
The charges include:
- Three counts of first-degree murder
- Aggravated child abuse
- Aggravated rape of a child
- Aggravated child neglect
- Aggravated criminal trespass
Court documents state that the aggravated criminal trespass charge stems from allegations that Vance unlawfully entered or remained at Miller Village Apartments, knowing he was not permitted to be on the property.
Prosecutors allege this violation is connected to a prior aggravated robbery charge, though details of that case were not immediately released.
Vance remains incarcerated at the Sullivan County Jail pending further court proceedings.
Authorities emphasized that the investigation remains ongoing.
As with all criminal cases, the charges outlined in the indictment are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
Crime
MIT Professor Nuno Loureiro Shooting Suspect Identified as 48-Year-Old Claudio Manuel Neves-Valente
Authorities have identified the suspect connected to both the Brown University mass shooting in Rhode Island and the fatal shooting of MIT professor Dr. Nuno F. G. Loureiro in Massachusetts as Claudio Manuel Neves-Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national, according to law enforcement sources.
Investigators say Neves-Valente was found deceased from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound inside an Extra Space Storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire, effectively ending a multistate manhunt.
Law enforcement officials confirmed that Neves-Valente was not a U.S. citizen, but a lawful permanent resident of the United States.
His last known address was in Miami, Florida. Police have stated that he took his own life, and the manner of death is being investigated in coordination with the medical examiner.
Sources familiar with the investigation say Neves-Valente had a storage unit registered in his name at the Salem facility, the same location where an abandoned vehicle linked to the case was previously discovered.
Surveillance video reportedly shows him entering the storage complex; however, investigators initially could not confirm whether he exited prior to being found deceased. Authorities have said agents had not entered the unit earlier in the operation as the scene remained part of an active investigation.
Investigators also revealed that the suspect used multiple sets of license plates on the same vehicle, a tactic authorities believe was intended to evade detection.
A witness-provided license plate in the Brown University shooting led investigators to trace the vehicle’s ownership and usage history, which ultimately connected it to the Brookline, Massachusetts homicide of Dr. Loureiro.
The vehicle was later located in Salem after a license plate reader flagged one of the associated plates, prompting a significant law enforcement response involving federal, state, and local agencies near the Salem, New Hampshire–Methuen, Massachusetts border.
During the search, Methuen police issued public alerts asking residents to report individuals who appeared out of place or were behaving suspiciously, while emphasizing that there was no ongoing threat to the general public.
Officials noted that the suspect appeared to have employed deliberate countermeasures, including changing plates across jurisdictions and attempting to avoid surveillance cameras and facial recognition systems.
Law enforcement sources further stated that Neves-Valente was originally from Portugal, the same country as Dr. Loureiro. Investigators are examining whether there is any significance to that shared background.
It is believed, though not yet publicly confirmed by authorities, that both men may have attended the same school in Lisbon earlier in their lives.
Additionally, Brown University officials have confirmed that Neves-Valente was previously a Brown student, attending the university from 2000 to 2001.
Records indicate he was enrolled exclusively in physics courses during that time.
The university believes he may have had classes in the same building where the shooting later occurred, though officials have stressed that this information is part of a broader factual review and not indicative of motive.
The Brown University shooting occurred shortly after 4 p.m. on Saturday, when a masked gunman dressed in black entered a lecture hall in the Barus and Holley Science Building and opened fire on students attending a final exam review session.
Two students were killed—MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, 18, of Virginia, and Ella Cook, 19, a sophomore from Alabama. Nine others were wounded, with six remaining hospitalized in stable condition at the time of the last update.
The attack triggered a massive response involving approximately 400 law enforcement officers, who conducted extensive searches of campus buildings and surrounding neighborhoods.
Although a 24-year-old man was briefly detained as a person of interest, forensic testing later cleared him, and he was released.
Separately, authorities in Brookline, Massachusetts, responded Monday night to the home of Dr. Loureiro, an MIT professor, who had been shot and later died from his injuries early Tuesday morning.
While officials initially stated there appeared to be no connection between the two cases, subsequent investigation revealed that both incidents were linked to the same suspect and vehicle.
The FBI, along with state and local agencies, continues to review evidence, digital records, and the suspect’s movements in the days leading up to both attacks.
Officials have emphasized that while the suspect is deceased, the investigation remains active as authorities work to establish motive, timeline, and any additional relevant connections.