Dead Pool 3rd May 2026

Alas, no points to award this week, but plenty to read on this damp, sunny, rainy, hot and cold bank holiday weekend.  

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Dion Anderson, 87, American actor (The Shawshank Redemption, Days of Our Lives, Townies). 
• Tony Wilson, 89, Trinidadian musician (Hot Chocolate) and songwriter (“Brother Louie“, “You Sexy Thing“).
• Gerry Conway, 73, American comic book writer (The Amazing Spider-Man, Punisher, Justice League), pancreatic cancer. 
• Nedra Talley, 80, American singer (The Ronettes). 
• Roger Sweet, 91, American toy designer (Mattel), creator of He-Man, complications from dementia. 
• J. Craig Venter, 79, American genomics researcher, founder of Celera Corporation and JCVI, complications from cancer 
• Gwen Farrell, 94, American actress (M*A*S*H) and boxing referee. 
• James Ernest Hitchcock, 70, American convicted murderer, execution by lethal injection. 
• Alex Zanardi, 59, Italian racing driver (CART, Formula One) and para-cyclist, four-time Paralympic champion.
• Gary Lydon, 61, Irish actor (The Banshees of Inisherin, The Clinic, Pure Mule).

In Other News

A notorious fraudster wanted by the Met has died after falling from a window in the capital. Swindler Karl Cronin was found fatally injured on the pavement along the King’s Road in Chelsea, west London. It is believed he fell out of a second-storey window, although police do not suspect third-party involvement. The Flying Monkeys have been told the victim was Cronin, who was wanted by police over his role in a large-scale multi-million-pound property scam. He was even the subject of a police appeal on BBC series Crimewatch in 2008, as detectives sought to question the elusive criminal. It is not known how the fraudster was able to return to London under the noses of the Met. One friend said: ‘He did a lot of bad things in his life and destroyed many, many lives. He lived through lies and deceit and he had a ruthless streak. All he cared about was money, dating young women, and having a good time. It did not matter who got hurt along the way. There have been a lot of people laughing that his life has ended this way. There’s the feeling that he got what he deserved.’ Another friend told us: ‘He was a loveable rogue, almost like an Arthur Daley figure. He was always good company, the life and soul of a party and someone who was living life to the full. But he caused a lot of damage, there is no doubt about that.’ Sources said Cronin had been living in the rented apartment since November last year, having flown into London Heathrow. He became wanted for defrauding landlords and property owners in the Chelsea and Fulham areas in the early 2000s. It is believed he made in excess of £5 million out of the scam. He was also implicated in a high-profile 2017 fraud trial which led to a model and her mother being jailed. Laylah de Cruz and her mother Dianne Moorcroft conned a 91 year-old heiress – who has since died – to raise cash against her home. Investigations are continuing into how Cronin met his death. One person who knew Cronin well said: ‘There is no way Karl killed himself. None of the people who knew him believe that is what happened. One thing is for sure – he had a lot of enemies.’  

All Elite Wrestling aired a tribute to wrestler Tanea “Rebel” Brooks following her announcement that she has been diagnosed with “terminal” amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). “You probably know by social media that one of our fine athletes has some very serious health problems,” announcer Tony Schiavone told viewers on the Saturday episode of AEW Collision. “We want Tanea to know you are big part of AEW and we are thinking about you right now and we are praying for you, that you will pull through.” Brooks shared with her social media followers on Friday that she was recently diagnosed with “terminal ALS,” a nervous system disease that impacts the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. ALS — which is alternatively known as Lou Gehrig’s disease or Motor Neurone Disease — causes a gradual loss of ability to control speech, breathing and eating. There is no known cure. The wrestler has been on a longterm health journey, having battled primary pulmonary lymphoma, a rare type of lung cancer, since 2024. In Friday’s vlog, Brooks explained that recent developments in her cancer fight led doctors to discover that she has ALS. “The thing is, sometimes we don’t want to hear that answer to our prayers. And so, while I was waiting to have lung surgery for the masses on my lung, the doctors at Mayo Clinic finally found what’s going on,” she told viewers. Brooks admitted that her medical team “does not know how long” she has to live since “there is not a lot of research behind ALS.” “It explains why I have trouble walking and talking and all my functions will soon decline. But now, we can prepare for the future and what is to come,” she acknowledged. The 12-year pro wrestling veteran personally thanked All Elite Wrestling owner Tony Khan for supporting her through her health problems. “I want to say thank you to Tony Khan and AEW for supporting me on this medical journey,” a tearful Brooks said. “It has been a blessing that is unheard of and, from the bottom of my heart, thank you and thank you to all of you for your prayers.” She asked fans to keep her in their thoughts, saying, “Please continue to pray for a peaceful journey and a peaceful passing. I love you.” B

Bryan Murray, best known for his role in Brookside, has been placed into “full-time care” following his Alzheimer’s diagnosis. Bryan’s wife, Una Crawford O’Brien, disclosed the  news at the Alzheimer’s Tea Day 2026 last month regarding her husband’s deteriorating condition. She said: “Over the past year, Bryan’s needs became far greater, and he has now moved into full time care. Up until now, I didn’t have time to think. My day was completely focused on Bryan and his needs. Now I have time to miss him. The 76-year-old former actor portrayed Trevor Jordache in 1993.  He was equally well recognised for his portrayal of Bob Charles in the soap opera, Fair City. Bryan continued to feature in the Irish soap until last year, when he stepped down after two decades of portraying Bob Charles. The Dublin-born actor was initially diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2019, though he kept his diagnosis private for several years. Bryan featured in just 24 episodes of Brookside, yet his character became one of the show’s most notorious, as a violent and abusive murderer. Throughout his career, he also made appearances in a host of popular British television programmes, including Casualty, Holby City, The Bill, Silent Witness, and The Tudors. 

On This Day

• 1978 – The first unsolicited bulk commercial email (which would later become known as “spam”) is sent by a Digital Equipment Corporation marketing representative to every ARPANET address on the west coast of the United States.
• 1979 – Margaret Thatcher wins the United Kingdom general election.
• 2007 – The three-year-old British girl Madeleine McCann disappears in Praia da Luz, Portugal, starting “the most heavily reported missing-person case in modern history”.

Deaths

• 1935 – Jessie Willcox Smith, American illustrator (born 1863).
• 1972 – Bruce Cabot, American actor (born 1904).
• 1986 – Robert Alda, American actor (born 1914).

Last Meals

James Ernest Hitchcock was an American convicted child murderer. On July 31st 1976, Hitchcock raped and murdered his 13-year-old step-niece, Cynthia Driggers, at her home in Winter Garden, Florida. Hitchcock was found guilty of Driggers’s murder and sentenced to death in 1977, although his death sentence was overturned thrice before it was reinstated after each re-sentencing trial. Hitchcock’s death sentence was ultimately upheld and finalised, and he was executed at the Florida State Prison on April 30th 2026, nearly 50 years after he had killed Driggers. 

James Ernest Hitchcock was born in Arkansas on April 5th 1956, and he grew up together with six siblings in Manila, Arkansas. During Hitchcock’s childhood, his family stayed in a shack and lived in poverty, and his parents made a living by picking cotton. When Hitchcock was six years old, his father contracted skin cancer and died. Hitchcock’s mother later remarried, but his stepfather was often abusive towards his mother. At the age of 13, Hitchcock ran away from home after he could no longer tolerate his stepfather’s abuse of his mother. Despite his difficult upbringing, Hitchcock was the first in his family to complete and receive a high school diploma. At one point in his life, Hitchcock was convicted of a burglary offence in Arkansas, but was released on parole by 1976. 

On August 5th 1976, James Hitchcock was charged with the rape and murder of his 13-year-old step-niece, which occurred five days earlier on July 31st 1976.

About two to three weeks before the murder, Hitchcock, who was then jobless and out on parole for his burglary conviction, moved to Orlando, Florida, where he stayed with his brother and his family, with one of the members being his brother’s 13-year-old stepdaughter, Cynthia Ann Driggers. On the eve of Driggers’s murder, Hitchcock watched television with his brother’s family until 11pm, before he went out drinking and smoking marijuana with his friends in Winter Garden. Hitchcock only returned home at about 2:30am, and he entered the house through the dining room window before he went back to his bedroom.

Afterwards, Hitchcock entered the room of Driggers, where he raped her. After the rape, Driggers reportedly stated that she was hurt and she wanted to tell her mother about it. Hitchcock proceeded to grab her by the neck, brought her outside and tried to convince her to not tell anyone about the rape. However, Driggers resisted and yelled, and hence, Hitchcock choked and hit his step-niece before he strangled her. After the murder, Hitchcock left the body inside the bushes before he went back to the house to shower and go to bed. The body was later found, and Hitchcock was arrested as a suspect the day after the murder. 

Less than a year after he was arrested, James Hitchcock was put on trial and convicted of the first-degree murder of Cynthia Driggers. During the trial itself, Hitchcock recanted his confession and claimed that Driggers voluntarily had sex with him, and that this was discovered by his brother, who killed Driggers in a fit of rage, and Hitchcock claimed he only confessed in order to cover up for his brother. This defence was rejected by the jury that convicted him. Hitchcock was later sentenced to death by the electric chair after the jury recommended the death penalty based on a majority vote. 

On March 31st 2026, Governor Ron DeSantis signed a death warrant for Hitchcock, scheduling his execution date as April 30th 2026. 

Upon receiving the news of Hitchcock’s death warrant, Cynthia Driggers’s family reportedly felt a mixed sense of relief and recalling of the tragedy. Driggers’s younger sister stated that the decades of legal processes dragged on in her sister’s murder were an “inescapable loop”, and a female cousin of Driggers stated that the family had waited 50 years for justice to be served, and implied that two of their surviving family members hoped to live longer than Hitchcock. St. Lucie County Judge Robert Meadows, who was Driggers’s cousin, revealed that his background in the judiciary made him often hear questions about why there was a lengthy delay in Driggers’s case and he found it hard to give a reply. Driggers’s mother stated her wish for Hitchcock to be executed for murdering her daughter. 

Come April 30th, 70-year-old James Ernest Hitchcock was put to death by lethal injection at the Florida State Prison. He was pronounced dead at 6:12pm. Hitchcock was one of two offenders executed on the same date in the United States; the other was James Broadnax, who was convicted in 2008 of killing two music producers in Texas. Prior to his execution, Hitchcock received a final visit from a family member, and he also requested for a last meal of salad, chicken, ice cream, pie and soda.

Last Week’s Birthdays

Bobby Cannavale (56), Christina Hendricks (51), Rachel Zegler (25), Pom Klementieff (40), Rob Brydon (61), Frankie Valli (92), Sandi Toksvig (68), Dwayne Johnson (54), Mae Martin (39), Kumail Nanjiani (48), Ellie Kemper (46), Christine Baranski (74), Matt Berry (52), Lily Allen (41), David Beckham (51), Jamie Dornan (44), Julie Benz (54), Joanna Lumley (80), Ana de Armas (38), Kirsten Dunst (44), Gal Gadot (41), Sam Heughan (46), Michelle Pfeiffer (68), Daniel Day-Lewis (69), Uma Thurman (56), Kate Mulgrew (71), Willie Nelson (93), Mary McDonnell (74), Jessica Alba (45), Penélope Cruz (52), and Jenna Coleman (40).