‘It ruined me’: Victims of ‘monster’ rapist who deliberately infected partners with HIV speak out

“All I can say is it ruined me. In that moment my life as I knew it was gone.”

Those were the words ofone victimas he described how a “dalliance” withAdam Hallhad left him facing homophobic abuse at work after he contractedHIV,forcing him to “rewrite” his life.

Hall was jailed for life with a minimum term of 23 years on Thursday after he was found guilty of deliberately infecting a string of sexual partners withHIVand raping some of his victims.

The 43-year-old, of Donvale Road, Washington, Tyne and Wear, was convicted in March of seven counts of causinggrievous bodily harmand five counts of rape following a three-and-a-half-month trial at the same court.

The men and boys he preyed upon were aged from their late 20s down to just 15 years old. The court heard how he would meet them in bars in theNewcastlearea or on the dating appGrindr, and had failed to disclose his HIV positive status to them.

His victims did not know he had passed on the virus until they were tested, and described the life-shattering consequences of Hall’s actions as they gave victim impact statements to the court.

One, who was aged just 15 when he was infected with HIV, described how he found out he had contracted the virus in a phone call from health professionals moments after he stepped off a school bus.

“I had just got off the school bus and was walking home, and my phone started ringing,” he said. “When I picked it up, it was the sexual health nurse. She explained my results had come back and I was HIV positive.

“Everything shattered, everything went numb. I was mortified, not only at the situation but at myself. You know, like how has this happened to me?

“I felt like I was sinking; it was really devastating. I was angry. I could not comprehend why someone could do this, to harm somebody. I just felt like I had my life stripped away.”

Another said he had been left a “broken man” by the way Hall had treated him. He described how he had been “vulnerable” after recently ending a relationship when he met the 43-year-old.

“The first time Hall raped me, I blamed myself,” he said, adding the diagnosis of HIV had felt like a “death sentence”. “The first medication I took made my hair fall out. I switched medications, but the side effects continued.”

He said day-to-day living with the virus was “exhausting”. “Hall left me a broken man, just a shell of who I was; he stripped me down for his own gain,” he continued. “I am a broken man. He changed me as a person, who I was to my core, and he did it all for his own gain.”

Another said he felt “so relieved” when Hall was convicted in March. “I just broke down there and then. I had been believed. It was so important that the jury believed me.

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“It felt like a massive weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I felt so relieved.”

Others described the homophobic abuse and stigma they had been subject to since their diagnosis.

“When I was first diagnosed with HIV, I just couldn’t believe it. It was the last thing I ever expected, and I assumed it would never happen to me,” one said.

“All I can say is it ruined me. In that moment, my life as I knew it was gone.”

He added “everything started to change” for him after telling the management at his work of his diagnosis.

“I faced so much stigma at work, including homophobic comments,” he explained. “People I’d known for years calling me names, they all treated me differently because of the HIV.”

Health officials are now urging people across the country who have had sex with Adam Hall to get themselves checked for HIV.

Detectives say Hall travelled to see men he met on the dating app Grindr across the North East, including County Durham and Middlesbrough, as well as North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Manchester and London.

Newcastle director of public health Professor Alice Wiseman urged people who have had sex with Hall to access confidential health services in their area.

She said: “The sooner that anyone is diagnosed, the better the treatment is. We want to eliminate HIV in the long term; the way to do that is for those who are infected to receive treatment as soon as possible.

“The earlier you are diagnosed, the sooner you can have anti-retroviral therapy, and if you are consistent with your treatment, you can reduce your viral load so you are no longer infectious to those around you.”

Daniel Fluskey, director of policy, National AIDS Trust, said: “Our thoughts are with everyone affected by Hall’s sentencing, first and foremost the people who are victims of Adam Hall’s crimes who have had deeply traumatic experiences.

“The intention of transmitting HIV to any other person is completely condemned, and this kind of prosecution is extremely rare.

“It is important to recognise that HIV has changed considerably over recent years – the vast majority of people living with HIV are on medication, cannot pass the virus on, and expect a normal life expectancy.

“As this case is discussed, we hope it helps improve the understanding of HIV and does not reinforce fear, stigma or discrimination. HIV is now a manageable condition and no one should fear taking an HIV test and accessing treatment.”

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

April 27, 2026

‘It ruined me’: Victims of ‘monster’ rapist who deliberately infected partners with HIV speak out

“All I can say is it ruined me. In that moment my life as I knew it was gone.” Those were the words ofone victimas he described ho...

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Jokic fined $50,000, Randle fined $35,000 for Nuggets-Wolves incident

NEW YORK (AP) — Denver's Nikola Jokic was fined $50,000 and Minnesota's Julius Randle was fined $35,000 for their roles inan altercationnear the end of Game 4 of the teams' playoff series, the NBA announced Sunday.

Nuggets Timberwolves Basketball

Both will be eligible to play when the series resumes Monday with Game 5 in Denver.

The incident was evidently sparked when Minnesota'sJaden McDanielstook an uncontested layup with 2.1 seconds left and the Timberwolves already leading by 14 — a play the Nuggets took exception to, given how the game had been decided.

Jokic, the NBA said, “initiated the incident by confronting and shoving” McDaniels in reaction to that play. Randle, the league said, “escalated the incident by forcefully inserting himself into the scrum and shoving Nuggets guard-forward Bruce Brown.”

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Jokic and Randle were assessed technical fouls and ejected from the game.

“He scored when we’d stopped playing,” Jokic said. “You guys saw what happened.”

The teams are meeting in the postseason for the third time in the last four years. Minnesota leads the series 3-1, but will be without guard Donte DiVincenzo for the rest of the season because of a torn Achilles and will be without fellow guard Anthony Edwards indefinitely because of a knee injury. DiVincenzo and Edwards bothgot hurt on Saturday.

AP NBA:https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

April 27, 2026

Jokic fined $50,000, Randle fined $35,000 for Nuggets-Wolves incident

NEW YORK (AP) — Denver's Nikola Jokic was fined $50,000 and Minnesota's Julius Randle was fined $35,000 for their roles inan al...

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Human remains found in search for missing Florida doctoral student

Man faces murder charges in case of USF doctoral students as police still search for 1 of them 02:38

Human remains have been found in the waterways of Tampa Bay, where authorities have been searching for the body of missing University of Florida doctoral student Nahida Bristy, Florida deputies announced late Sunday as new court documents allege thesuspect in the killingof Bristy andanother studentappeared to ask ChatGPT how to dispose of a body.

The remains were found in Pinellas County and have not yet been identified. According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, the remains were found "in the area of Interstate 275 and 4th Street North," which is at the St. Petersburg side of the Howard Frankland Bridge.

Bristy, 27, who is presumed dead, went missing last week along with 27-year-old Zamil Limon, whose remains were found Friday on a bridge near Tampa. Limon's roommate, 26-year-old Hisham Abugharbieh, was arrested Saturday and is charged with two counts of premeditated first-degree murder with a weapon. He is being held without bond.

Court documents unveiled Sunday reveal Abugharbieh allegedly asked ChatGPT questions about how to dispose of a body in the days leading up to the disappearance of Brsity and Limon.

According to the documents, the suspect asked ChatGPT on April 13 what would happen if someone was "put in a black garbage bag and thrown in dumpster." The AI chatbot responded that it sounds dangerous, prompting Abugharbieh to allegedly ask, "How would they find out."

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Limon's body "was located within numerous black utility trash bags in advanced stages of decomposition" on the Howard Frankland Bridge, which spans part of Tampa Bay, according to the court documents. The documents also say prosecutors believe Bristy was "disposed of in a similar way."

On April 15, the day before the doctoral students went missing, Abugharbie allegedly asked ChatGPT, "Can a VIN number on a car be changed?" and, "Can you keep a gun at home with out a license," the documents said.

Then, just after midnight on April 17, the documents say Abugharbie asked if cars are "checked at the Hillsborough River state park," a state park located just to the northeast of Tampa. That same night, the suspect's phone pinged at the location on the bridge where Limon's remains were discovered — to the west of Tampa — the court documents allege.

An autopsy by the Pinellas County Medical Examiner's Office found that Limon's body had sustained numerous lacerations and stab wounds. The manner of death was ruled a homicide due to "multiple sharp force injuries," according to the court documents.

Abugharbie also had numerous lacerations on his body, including his left and right legs, the court documents state.

The court documents say detectives used an "enhancement agent" at the apartment Limon and Abugharbie shared and found "significant" blood patterns from the entry foyer, through the kitchen, into the hallway and in the suspect's bedroom. The blood in the bedroom was found in "two distinct patterns on the floor which appeared to have a relatively human-sized shape," the court documents state.

Abugharbie is being represented by a public defender. CBS News reached out for comment on Saturday after his arraignment, but has not heard back. He is due back in court on Tuesday.

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

April 27, 2026

Human remains found in search for missing Florida doctoral student

Man faces murder charges in case of USF doctoral students as police still search for 1 of them 02:38 Human remains have been foun...

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Researchers say remote Lake Superior island's wolves are thriving as packs prey on moose

Wolves on a remote island in Lake Superiorappear to be thriving, but they're making deep dents in the moose population that they rely on as a leading food source, according to a report released Monday.

Isle Royale-Wolf Survey

Isle Royale is a 134,000-acre (54,200-hectare) national park in far western Lake Superior between Grand Marais, Minnesota and Thunder Bay, Canada. The island is a natural laboratory, offering scientists a rare opportunity to observe wolves and moose largely free from human influence.

Researchers have conductedwolf and moose population surveyson the island since 1958. The surveys had been an annual winter event when the roadless island is closed to visitors, butresearchers have run into obstaclesin recent years.

The pandemic in 2021 forced scientists to cancel the survey for the first time. The National Park Service ordered researchers to evacuate the island during their 2024 winter survey after weeks of unusually warm weather left the ice surrounding the island unsafe for ski-plane landings. Researchers rely on the planes for easier wildlife tracking but the island has no runway, forcing them to land on iced-over Lake Superior. Things didn't go much better last year when researchers were forced to scrap the effort after their pilot suffered a last-minute medical issue.

But this year a team of researchers led by scientists from Michigan Tech University were able to conduct a survey from Jan. 22 through March 3. Findings from the survey led them to estimate the island's wolf population at 37 animals. Data scientists gathered before they evacuated in 2024 survey showed the population at 30.

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The 2026 estimates are the highest since the late 1970s and represent a marked improvement since the population dwindled to just two wolves a decade ago. Researchers believe inbreeding led to depressed survival rates in pups.

The island's moose population, though, is declining dramatically. This year's survey put the population at 524 moose, down 75% from a high of 2,000 in 2019. Wolves likely killed almost a quarter of the moose population over the last year, scientists estimated. For the first time in almost 70 years, researchers observed no moose calves during the winter survey.

Sarah Hoy, a Michigan Tech researcher who specializes in predator-prey interactions and one of the survey's co-leaders, said scientists had to brave wind chills that dipped to minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 45.5 Celsius) and it was difficult to keep warm with the woodstoves in their cabins.

But clear skies facilitated exceptional observations. The scientists spotted wolves on all but one survey flight, she said. One of the highlights was watching a pack snuggle up together on the ice on Valentine's Day, she said.

“It's always such a privilege to get to see wolves interacting, witnessing courtship behavior, pups playfully tugging on each other's tails, or a pack working together to take down a moose,” she said.

Scientists plan to conduct summer research on the island with an eye toward how the burgeoning wolf packs can maintain balance with the rest of the ecosystem.

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

April 27, 2026

Researchers say remote Lake Superior island's wolves are thriving as packs prey on moose

Wolves on a remote island in Lake Superiorappear to be thriving, but they're making deep dents in the moose population that they re...

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Patients say they want Alzheimer’s blood tests. Doctors aren’t sure they help.

The idea is straightforward: Takea blood testnow, even without symptoms, and learn if you could some day develop Alzheimer’s disease.

Whether youshouldget this test is a more complicated matter.

Most Alzheimer’s blood tests work bymeasuring levels of amyloid or tau, proteins that build up in the brain and are thought to play key roles in the disease. Both can begin gathering in the brain decades before any symptoms appear.

But it’s still an ongoing debate how well the tests can predict who will go on to developAlzheimer’s disease,doctors say. Some people who test positive never do, fueling suspicion about how reliable the results are in the first place.

Even if the tests can accurately predict risk, they raise a bigger question: what should patients do with the information? There is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, which affects about 7 million people in the U.S., according tothe Mayo Clinic. Thetwo drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration— Leqembi and Kisunla — aim to slow, not cure, the disease. There’s mixed evidence for how well they work, and they come with potentially serious side effects, including brain swelling and bleeding. Diet and exercisemay help reduce the riskof Alzheimer’s, but their effects are limited.

“The whole idea of doing a test to provide an early diagnosis of any disease is that if we act early, we get better results,” said Dr. Alberto Espay, a neurologist at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. “But there is zero evidence to demonstrate that people who are at the earliest stages [of Alzheimer’s disease] would benefit from anything we have.”

That tension is reflected in a survey published earlier this month in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia, which found that 85% of patients said they would take a blood test to assess their Alzheimer’s risk if their doctor recommended it.

The survey included responses from nearly 600 adults with an average age of 62 at primary care clinics in the Chicago area. About half reported having a family history of Alzheimer’s disease, though none had been diagnosed. Most had never heard of the tests before taking the survey.

The survey’s lead author, Andrea Russell, said the findings reflect the anxiety she sees in her older patients.

“A lot of people seem to want to understand what’s happening to them,” said Russell, a clinical and primary care psychologist at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. The survey also found that nearly 3 in 4 respondents said they would expect to feel distressed after a positive result, even as most said they would likely take steps to improve their brain health.

As a psychologist, Russell does not order the tests for her patients. She said she has questions about the tests’ validity.

“There’s still a lot to be ironed out. They’re still not ready for prime time,” Russell said. “There is definitely skepticism.”

The FDA has cleared two blood tests for Alzheimer’s, both in the last year, for people 55 and older. They’re approved for people who are already showing symptoms of the disease, not for those without symptoms. The tests don’t diagnose Alzheimer’s on their own and are used alongside other tests, like a PET scan. The FDA notedin one of its approvalsthat the main risk of the tests is inaccurate results — including false positives and false negatives — which “could lead to an inappropriate diagnosis of, and unnecessary treatment for, Alzheimer’s disease.”

Despite the current limitations, there are at least 25 commercially available blood tests worldwide, and there are more in development, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, a proponent of testing.

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The approval of blood tests isn’t only important for earlier diagnosis, but for ensuring that patients have easy access to a diagnosis, according to Rebecca Edelmayer, the Alzheimer’s Association vice president of scientific engagement. The tests, she said, are simple to administer, relatively inexpensive and more convenient than PET scans or MRI.

“There is strong public sentiment in support of early Alzheimer’s diagnosis and treatment,” Edelmeyer said in an emailed statement. “People want to know if they have Alzheimer’s or another disease that causes dementia, and they want to know before it impacts their daily life.”

Dr. Ronald Petersen, a neurologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, said the tests have improved “dramatically” in recent years, though more work is needed.

Petersen said the blood tests are generally used in three ways.

The first is prediction, estimating the likelihood that someone has amyloid in the brain, which is then typically confirmed by a PET scan. That’s how the tests have been used in clinical trials, he said, as a screening tool to identify which patients should go on to more expensive imaging.

The second is tracking treatment. In theory, doctors could use blood tests over time to see whether amyloid levels or other changes after a patient starts on an Alzheimer’s drug.

The third is diagnosis: whether a blood test alone can confirm Alzheimer’s disease by detecting amyloid or other markers of the disease in the brain.

“I think the jury is still out on that,” Petersen said. “Some people will take that and will say, ‘OK, good enough for me.’ But I think there’s been enough inconsistencies, discordances, mismatches between blood tests, spinal fluid and PET scans, in both directions, to make most people in the field still skeptical about using a blood test alone.”

A2024 studyfound blood tests correctly identified whether patients with memory problems had Alzheimer’s about 90% of the time, though experts noted it was conducted in Sweden and would need to be confirmed with studies in the U.S., where the population is more diverse. Last December, the Mayo Clinic presented data on one of the FDA-approved Alzheimer’s blood tests — from Fujirebio — finding it may be overly sensitive and more likely to flag patients as positive than other methods.

Espay, of the University of Cincinnati, said another important consideration is that amyloid and another biomarker, tau, are also present in the brains of some older adults who may never go on to develop the disease.

It may not be “telling you have a disease,” he said. “Pathology is what we are all developing as we age, but very few of us will die with the disease we’ve attributed the pathology to cause.”

Petersen said he’s hopeful that the tests will one day evolve and could one day be used as a lone tool for diagnosis, although the field isn’t there yet.

Russell said patients desperately want to know whether the symptoms they’re experiencing are a normal part of aging or something more.

“It could make a meaningful difference and help people feel like they have hope and control,” Russell said.

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

April 27, 2026

Patients say they want Alzheimer’s blood tests. Doctors aren’t sure they help.

The idea is straightforward: Takea blood testnow, even without symptoms, and learn if you could some day develop Alzheimer’s disease. ...

Read More