DNA evidence has linked two of the teenagers charged in the shooting death of a University of Massachusetts student who was working as a congressional intern in Washington, D.C. last summer, prosecutors alleged.

Government attorneys told Washington, D.C. Superior Court Judge Danya Dayson during a Friday status hearing that testing on shell casings recovered at the scene produced an “overwhelming statistical match” to Jailen Lucas, and that DNA also ties Kelvin Thomas to the shooting.

The two suspects, who were both 17 at the time of the shooting, are charged as adults with first-degree murder while armed in the killing of Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, 21, of Granby, Massachusetts.

SUSPECT IN MURDERS OF CONGRESSIONAL INTERN AND 17-YEAR-OLD ARRESTED MONTHS AFTER SHOOTINGS: OFFICIAL

Eric Tarpinian-Jachym was shot and killed on June 30, 2025. (Obtained by Fox News)

Two rounds of DNA testing have been completed, prosecutors said, and additional expert testimony is expected at trial on DNA analysis, ballistics and fingerprint evidence.

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Tarpinian-Jachym, a rising senior at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, was shot June 30, near the intersection of 7th and M Street NW in Washington.

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He was spending the summer in Washington as a congressional intern for Rep. Ron Estes, a Republican from Kansas. 

Kelvin Thomas Jr. (L) and Jailen Lucas (R) face first-degree murder charges in the killing of Eric Tarpinian-Jachym on June 30. (The Metropolitan Police Department)

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Authorities say three armed suspects exited a stolen vehicle and opened fire at two individuals in the area.

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Tarpinian-Jachym, who was not involved, was struck four times. He died the following day.

The Metropolitan Police Department released more pictures of Naqwan Lucas. (The Metropolitan Police Department)

Lucas and Thomas were arrested Sept. 5. On Oct. 31, a third suspect, identified as 18-year-old Naqwan Antonio Lucas of the District of Columbia, was arrested in Montgomery Village and also charged in Tarpinian-Jachym’s murder.

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A pretrial hearing is scheduled for May 15. The trial is expected to begin in February. Tarpinian-Jachym’s mother declined to comment when reached out to by Fox News Digital.

Fox News Digital’s Adam Sabes contributed to this report.

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Accused Charlie Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson filed a Sunday court motion to bar all still cameras, video cameras and microphones from a critical hearing on April 17.

On that day, Robinson is scheduled to be present in court, and the state and defense are expected to make a flurry of motions.

Judge Tony Graf has not made a ruling on whether to ban electronic media throughout the course of the trial.

Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, appears during a hearing in 4th District Court in Provo on Feb. 3, 2026. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune)

Fox News Legal Analyst Donna Rotunno, host of the podcast “Crime & Justice with Donna Rotunno,” said Graf should “take control” and make a definitive ruling on media in the courtroom throughout the rest of the proceedings.

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She said the defense asking only to ban electronic media for the April 17 hearing could be indicative of a larger strategy, and that they may ask to bar media on a hearing-by-hearing basis. That way, if Graf rules against them, they will only lose the motion for one specific hearing, and not for all the proceedings moving forward.

Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, has pleaded for cameras to be allowed during the trial.

Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, sits beside defense attorney Kathryn Nester during a hearing in 4th District Court in Provo on Jan. 16, 2026. (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune)

“There were cameras all over my husband when he was murdered,” she told Fox News’ Jesse Watters in an exclusive interview in November. “There have been cameras all over my friends and family mourning. There have been cameras all over me, analyzing my every move, analyzing my every smile, my every tear. We deserve to have cameras in there.”

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“Why not be transparent?” Kirk continued. “There’s nothing to hide. I know there’s not because I’ve seen what the case is built on.”

Prosecutors also filed a response to a motion filed by Robinson’s team last week, asking the court to push a May 18 preliminary hearing back. The defense is asking to push back the preliminary hearing until expert discovery is complete, and prosecutors argue that the hearing should be held on the scheduled date.

Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk’s widow, speaks at the public memorial service for right-wing activist Charlie Kirk at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on September 21, 2025. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP)

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The state argues that the defense is trying to confer upon itself rights during the preliminary stage of the trial that it is not entitled to until the actual trial itself, and that discovery is meant to be reserved for the trial, not preliminary proceedings.

Rotunno agrees that the defense has been given enough discovery leeway in the preliminary stage of the court proceedings, and that the hearing should remain scheduled for May 18.

A California judge on Wednesday cleared the final legal hurdle in the long-running prosecution of a pro-life activist who alleged in undercover videos that abortion providers were illegally profiting from fetal tissue.

“As promised, the final charge has been DISMISSED and the case completely expunged— —after a couple months’ administrative delay, and a truly bizarre last-minute ‘April Fool’s’ attempt by @PPFA and @NatAbortionFed to overturn the State’s agreement,” Center for Medical Progress founder David Daleiden tweeted on Wednesday, including a previous statement made on the reached settlement.

Daleiden, who alongside undercover journalist Sandra Merritt, faced 15 charges filed by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra in 2017. The charges stemmed from an investigation prompted by former California Attorney General Harris’ office, who left her position as state attorney general in January 2017 after being elected to the U.S. Senate.

APPEALS COURT HEARS MEDICAID FRAUD CASE THAT COULD COST PLANNED PARENTHOOD $1.8 BILLION

David Daleiden, a defendant in an indictment stemming from a secret investigation of his undercover videos of Planned Parenthood, stands in a Houston courtroom, Feb. 4, 2016. (David J. Phillip / Ap)

In January 2025, Daleiden and Merritt each pleaded no contest to one felony count under a settlement with California, which dismissed the remaining charges. Under the agreement, they faced no jail time, fines, or admissions of wrongdoing.

On Wednesday, San Francisco County Judge Brian Ferrall dropped the last charge against Daleiden and expunged the case. 

In a statement made last year, Daleiden said that the end of “the lawfare launched by Kamala Harris [is] a huge victory for my investigative reporting for the public’s right to know the truth about Planned Parenthood’s sale of aborted baby body parts.”

NEWSOM BAILS OUT PLANNED PARENTHOOD WITH $140M TO KEEP 100 CLINICS OPEN AFTER TRUMP CUTS

Planned Parenthood chapters in Texas worked with a national organization to create a guide which eliminates women from discussions on pregnancy.  (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

In January 2025, California Attorney General Rob Bonta cast the plea deal as a victory for reproductive healthcare access, saying in a press release that his office had secured felony convictions. Under the agreement, Daleiden and Merritt were required to have no contact with, stay away from, and not name the victims in the recordings, and to obey all laws, including by not making additional unlawful recordings.

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“While the Trump Administration is issuing pardons to individuals convicted of harming reproductive health clinics and providers, my office is securing criminal convictions to ensure that Californians can exercise their constitutional rights to reproductive healthcare,” Bonta said in a statement at the time. “We will not hesitate to continue taking action against those who threaten access to abortion care — whether by recording confidential conversations or other means.”

Daleiden released the videos in 2015 of Merritt having conversations with Planned Parenthood leadership and abortionist doctors, who described procedures ensuring fetal organs remain intact and can be harvested. 

State Attorney General Rob Bonta taking questions on Aug. 28, 2025.  (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

In response to the videos, Harris’ office opened an investigation into Daleiden and Merritt for violating the state’s recording law. In April 2016, California’s Department of Justice issued a search warrant and raided Daleiden’s Huntington Beach apartment, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Daleiden accused the raid of being politically motivated at the time. 

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The release of the videos pushed the Senate Judiciary Committee to call the Department of Justice to investigate Planned Parenthood Federation of America. No charges were ever brought against the nation’s largest abortion provider.

Daleiden was sued by Planned Parenthood for damages and was ordered in 2019 to pay $2.4 million in damages and more than $13 million in attorney’s fees.

Fox News Digital reached out to Planned Parenthood, Harris, Daleiden, and the National Abortion Federation for comment.

An anesthesiologist accused of trying to kill his wife would have had the knowledge and access to do so, according to his former boss, who said it would be “not hard” for someone in the field to commit murder.

“Would it be hard for an anesthesiologist to commit murder? I would say no,” Dr. Jonathan Waters said of his former mentee, Dr. Gerhardt Konig, in an interview on “Good Morning America.” “The drugs that we have typically are intended to take you to the edge of death.”

Waters, who supervised Konig, said he was stunned by the allegations.

“They had everything going for them. I truly don’t understand what happened,” he said.

JURORS SHOWN BODYCAM OF DOCTOR’S BLOODY WIFE, ROCK HE ALLEGEDLY USED TO BASH HER IN CLIFFSIDE ATTACK

Body camera footage shows Arielle Konig being helped by hikers after the alleged attack on a Hawaii hiking trail. (KHON-FOX)

He described Konig as intelligent and said he never saw him lose his temper — a characterization that sharply contrasts with the violent allegations now at the center of the doctor’s Maui trial.

“He was a smart guy… quite intelligent,” Waters said. “I never saw Gerhardt have a temper or lose his temper.”

DOCTOR’S BLOODIED WIFE SEEN IN BODYCAM AFTER SCREAMING FOR HELP FROM HUSBAND’S ALLEGED ATTACK

Arielle Konig testifies in court during the Maui attempted murder trial involving her husband. (KHON-FOX)

As Waters spoke publicly, jurors in Maui were shown disturbing police body camera footage this week capturing the aftermath of the alleged attack on the fourth day of trial.

The video shows Konig’s wife, Arielle Konig, bloodied and stumbling out of a remote hiking trail on Oahu after two hikers called 911, reporting they heard her screaming for help.

The hikers stayed with her, helping her to the ground and trying to keep her conscious as blood ran down her face.

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Honolulu Police Officer Kevin Chun testified that she appeared exhausted, short of breath and confused when he arrived.

Prosecutors allege Gerhardt Konig attacked his wife during the hike after discovering she was allegedly having an emotional affair.

They say he tried to push her off a cliff, then attempted to inject her with a syringe before repeatedly striking her in the head with a rock.

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A rock entered into evidence during the Maui attempted murder trial is alleged to have been used in the attack on Arielle Konig. (KHON-FOX)

Jurors were also shown photos of the scene, including blood on leaves, branches and the ground near a cliff edge, along with a rock believed to have been used in the attack.

Authorities say Konig fled after hikers intervened.

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Gerhardt Konig is charged with attempted second-degree murder after he allegedly tried to kill his wife while hiking in Hawaii.  (Gerhardt Konig/Facebook)

Police later spotted him with what appeared to be blood on his shirt, triggering a chase before officers took him into custody after he resisted arrest.

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Investigators also recovered a backpack, cellphone and a second bag allegedly containing medical supplies tied to the defendant.

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His defense team claims Arielle Konig was the aggressor and that he struck her with a rock in self-defense.

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Gerhardt Konig has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.

KINGSTON, N.Y. — A former New York state trooper accused of ramming his vehicle into an SUV during a high-speed chase leading to the death of an 11-year-old girl was convicted of manslaughter Friday at his second trial.

Prosecutors say Christopher Baldner rammed the SUV twice on the New York State Thruway, causing it to lose control and flip over. Eleven-year-old Monica Goods, who was in the SUV, was killed in the December 2020 crash. Baldner’s attorneys said the accident occurred after the SUV cut the trooper off as he pulled alongside during the pursuit.

A jury acquitted Baldner of murder and reckless endangerment charges in November, but they deadlocked on a second-degree manslaughter charge. Judge Bryan Rounds declared a mistrial and a second trial on the lone remaining charge began last month.

Assistant State Attorney General Jennifer Gashi told jurors during Baldner’s latest trial that he chose to “recklessly use his patrol car as a weapon” during the chase north of New York City. Defense attorney Anthony Ricco argued it was the driver of the SUV — Monica’s father, Tristin Goods — who acted recklessly and caused her death, according to the Daily Freeman.

Baldner pulled Tristin Goods over for speeding on the highway near Kingston the night of Dec. 22, 2020. Goods, his wife and two daughters were heading north from New York City to visit family.

Baldner and Goods argued, and the trooper pepper-sprayed the inside the vehicle. Goods drove off and Baldner pursued.

Defense attorneys said Goods collided with Baldner’s trooper car twice during the pursuit. An accident reconstruction expert for the defense testified that Goods lost control of the SUV when he overcorrected after “a very minor impact,” the newspaper reported.

Charles W. Murphy, president of the Police Benevolent Association of the New York State Troopers, said the union was deeply disappointed by the verdict and that Baldner was “simply following his training when he responded to a rapidly evolving and highly dangerous situation.”

“This outcome sends a troubling message to all law enforcement officers who must make split-second decisions to protect the public,” Murphy said in a written statement.

The ex-trooper retired in 2022 after almost 20 years with the state police.

LOS ANGELES — LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mark Zuckerberg will testify in an unprecedented social media trial that questions whether Meta’s platforms deliberately addict and harm children.

Meta’s CEO is expected to answer tough questions on Wednesday from attorneys representing a now 20-year-old woman identified by the initials KGM, who claims her early use of social media addicted her to the technology and exacerbated depression and suicidal thoughts. Meta Platforms and Google’s YouTube are the two remaining defendants in the case, which TikTok and Snap have settled.

Zuckerberg has testified in other trials and answered questions from Congress about youth safety on Meta’s platforms, and he apologized to families at that hearing whose lives had been upended by tragedies they believed were because of social media. This trial, though, marks the first time Zuckerberg will answer similar questions in front of a jury. and, again, bereaved parents are expected to be in the limited courtroom seats available to the public.

The case, along with two others, has been selected as a bellwether trial, meaning its outcome could impact how thousands of similar lawsuits against social media companies would play out.

A Meta spokesperson said the company strongly disagrees with the allegations in the lawsuit and said they are “confident the evidence will show our longstanding commitment to supporting young people.”

One of Meta’s attorneys, Paul Schmidt, said in his opening statement that the company is not disputing that KGM experienced mental health struggles, but rather that Instagram played a substantial factor in those struggles. He pointed to medical records that showed a turbulent home life, and both he and an attorney representing YouTube argue she turned to their platforms as a coping mechanism or a means of escaping her mental health struggles.

Zuckerberg’s testimony comes a week after that of Adam Mosseri, the head of Meta’s Instagram, who said in the courtroom that he disagrees with the idea that people can be clinically addicted to social media platforms. Mosseri maintained that Instagram works hard to protect young people using the service, and said it’s “not good for the company, over the long run, to make decisions that profit for us but are poor for people’s well-being.”

Much of Mosseri’s questioning from the plaintiff’s lawyer, Mark Lanier, centered on cosmetic filters on Instagram that changed people’s appearance — a topic that Lanier is sure to revisit with Zuckerberg. He is also expected to face questions about Instagram’s algorithm, the infinite nature of Meta’ feeds and other features the plaintiffs argue are designed to get users hooked.

Meta is also facing a separate trial in New Mexico that began last week.