New Orlean's Historic Voodoo Museum

A Snapshot into the Real New Orleans

New Orleans, as a city, has a long and illustrious reputation as a place of mystery, the unusual, and the odd. In such a city of wide and eclectic tastes the New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum fits right in.

Founded in 1972 by Charles Massicot Gandolfo, a local artist with a passion for all things Voodoo, the small museum has been inducting its visitors into the mystical and occult for almost forty years.

There are several different branches of Voodoo. The museum concentrates on what is known commonly as Louisiana Voodoo or New Orleans Voodoo.

New Orleans Voodoo is a conglomerate of African and European influences that have been stirred together within the cultural melting pot of New Orleans. Originally brought to the city in the early 1700s through the African slave trade, Louisiana Voodoo can trace its roots back through three separate periods: African, Creole and, American.

Among the more interesting and unusual services that the New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum offers are psychic readings. Prognosticating, or fortune telling, is an art that is deeply ingrained within the fabric of Voodoo culture, and the museums on-hand voodoo priest John T is responsible for these readings, which can be done in person or via the telephone, and start at $40. However be warned, as the museum’s website explains, “Neither the Voodoo Museum, nor any reader, or practitioner, can guarantee any cause, effect or validation.”

The museum’s gift shop sells a wide range of interesting products, and among the various chicken feet and snake skins for sale there are two famous Voodoo items in particular: the Voodoo Love potion and the New Orleans Voodoo Coffin Kits. There is, of course, also a wide variety of items tailored for the less adventurous, including books and candles.

Along with the plethora of interesting objects and artifacts that populate the museum’s walls, walking tours of the famous St. Louis Cemetery are also offered. Visitors can gaze upon the tomb of one of the most famous practitioners of New Orleans Voodoo, Marie Laveau.

As a Voodoo priestess her magical powers were legendary throughout the city of New Orleans. However, there may be another explanation of her fame, she was also rumored to run one of the most popular brothels in New Orleans.

From: http://atlasobscura.com/place/new-orlean-s-historic-voodoo-museum

The Skeleton Lake of Roopkund, India

A lake with hundreds of ancient skeletons surrounding it, the surprise is what killed them…

In 1942 a British forest guard in Roopkund, India made an alarming discovery. Some 5000 meters above sea level at the bottom of a small valley, was a lake absolutely full of skeletons. As the glacier melted in the summer it revealed ever more skeletal remains, both floating in the water and lying haphazardly around the edges. Something horrible had happened here.

The immediate assumption, it being war time, was that these were Japanese soldiers who had been sneaking through India and died of exposure, and the British government terrified of a Japanese land invasion sent a team of investigators. However upon examination they quickly realized these bones could not be Japanese soldiers, in fact they were much much older than that.

By the 1960s they knew the bones were quite old, flesh hair and bones having been preserved by the dry, cold air, but they had no exact timeframe for the bodies. More than that they had no idea what had killed the over 300 people who died in this small valley. Many theories were put forth including an epidemic, landslide, and ritual suicide.

However a 2004 expedition to the site, seems to have finally revealed the mystery of what killed the people at skeleton lake. The answer is stranger than anyone had guessed...

As it turns out, all the bodies date to around 850 AD. Based on DNA evidence it appears there were two groups, one a family or tribe of closely related people, and a second smaller, shorter group of locals, likely hired as porters and guides. Rings, spears, leather shoes and bamboo staves were all found leading experts to believe that the group was comprised of pilgrims heading through the valley with the help of the locals. But then what had killed them all, porter and pilgrim alike?

All the bodies had died in a similar way, from blows to the head. However, the short deep cracks in the skulls appeared to be the result not of weapons but of something rounded. The bodies also only had wounds on their heads, and shoulders as if the blows had all come from directly above...

Among Himalayan women there is an ancient and traditional folk song. The lyrics describe a goddess "so enraged at outsiders who defiled her mountain sanctuary that she rained death upon them by flinging hailstones “hard as iron.”

After much research and consideration the 2004 expedition came to the same conclusion. All 300 people died from a sudden and severe hailstorm. Trapped in the valley with nowhere to hide or seek shelter, the cricket ball sized hailstones "hard as iron” came by the thousands and killed the travelers in a sudden and bizarre death. The bodies would lay there for some 1200 years before the astonishing tale of what happened to them would be revealed to the world.

From: http://atlasobscura.com/place/the-skeleton-lake-of-roopkund-india

Man beats, jams screw in toddler stepdaughter during World Cup game

June 27, 2010 10:19 PM
By JARED TAYLOR, The Monitor

McALLEN — Police arrested a man who allegedly beat and suffocated his 2-year-old stepdaughter during the World Cup soccer game Saturday afternoon before jamming a screw down her throat in an attempt to make the slaying appear accidental.

McAllen police arrested Hector Castro, 28, after firefighters called officers to his apartment at 3101 N. Eighth St at 4:18 p.m. Saturday, said McAllen Police Chief Victor Rodriguez.

Firefighters and emergency medical personnel had been called to the house in reference to the girl's apparent choking on a screw, Rodriguez said. But after a cursory examination of the girl, whose name was not released by police, it was clear the screw had nothing to do with her death, police said.

"There are no words for this," said Rodriguez. "It makes you want to think about doing lots of things to this guy, but he will face the criminal justice system just like everybody else."

Castro, an undocumented immigrant, gave investigators a confession that implicated himself in the girl’s death, Rodriguez said.

Castro told investigators he was looking after his stepdaughter as he tried to watch the World Cup soccer match on television Saturday afternoon.

The toddler would not stop crying, and Castro allegedly gave the girl a severe beating, cracking several of her ribs before suffocating the girl, Rodriguez said. He then jammed a screw down her throat in an attempt to make the suffocation appear accidental.

Castro will face a capital murder charge at an arraignment set for today.

Neighbors said they saw police set up yellow caution tape, examining Castro's apartment for several hours Saturday afternoon and evening.

But no one has returned to the unit at the Greens Pointe apartment complex, said neighbor Irma Garcia.

"I would hear the baby crying all the time," said Garcia as she held her year-old son in her arms. "Not even my son would cry that much."

Four other children live at the apartment, Garcia said. The kids have been transferred into the custody of Child Protective Services, Rodriguez said.

The toddler's death marks the McAllen’s fifth murder case of 2010 and the third this month. Those three most recent cases involved illegal immigrant suspects, the chief said.

"The criminal justice system will spend horrendous amounts of time, effort and money to make these cases," Rodriguez said. "That is time, effort and money that our regular citizens are deprived of."

Castro faces a capital murder charge in the case because of the victim's young age.

"It is unimaginable," Rodriguez said. "I just can't fathom, you know, a grown adult person beating a 2-year-old to death.

"I have grandkids and it is just impossible for me to imagine this kind of behavior."

From: http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/stepdaughter-113782-beats-toddler.html

The girl who must eat every 15 minutes to stay alive

Lizzie Velasquez weighs just four stone and has almost zero per cent body fat but she is not anorexic.

Published: 12:09PM BST 28 Jun 2010

In fact, the 21-year-old from Austin, Texas, must eat every 15 minutes to stay healthy.

Miss Velasquez has a rare condition which prevents her from gaining weight even though she eats up to 60 small meals a day.

Despite consuming between 5,000 and 8,000 calories daily, the communications student, has never tipped over 4st 3lbs.

"I weigh myself regularly and if I gain even one pound I get really excited," said 5ft 2 ins Miss Velasquez, who wears size triple zero clothes.

"I eat every 15-20 minutes to keep my energy levels up.

"I eat small portions of crisps, sweets, chocolate, pizza, chicken, cake, doughnuts, ice cream, noodles and pop tarts all day long, so I get pretty upset when people accuse me of being anorexic."

She was born four weeks prematurely weighing just 2lb 10oz. Doctors found there was minimal amniotic fluid protecting her in the womb.

"They told us they had no idea how she could have survived," said Miss Velasquez's mother Rita, 45, a church secretary.

Doctors speculated Lizzie might have the genetic disorder De Barsy syndrome but soon ruled it out as it became clear she did not have learning difficulties.

"They kept on trying to figure out what was wrong with her but we treated her like any other child," said Mrs Velasquez, who charted her daughter's health in dozens of notebooks.

She was taken to see genetic experts but they still could not diagnose her.

Miss Velasquez's case has fascinated doctors all over the world and she is part of a genetic study run by Professor Abhimanyu Garg, MD, at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

Professor Garg and his team now believe Lizzie may have a form of Neonatal Progeroid Syndrome (NPS) which causes accelerated ageing, fat loss from the face and body, and tissue degeneration. People with PRS often have triangular and prematurely aged faces with a pointy nose.

He said: "I am aware of a small number of people that have similar conditions to Lizzie but each case is slightly different.

"We cannot predict what will happen to Lizzie in the future as the medical community are yet to document older people with NPS.

"However Lizzie is lucky to have healthy teeth, organs and bones so the outlook is good. We will continue to study her case and learn from her." Miss Velasquez has helped to write a book about her incredible experiences.

It is due to be released in September.

From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7858664/The-girl-who-must-eat-every-15-minutes-to-stay-alive.html

American 'Dr Death' guilty of manslaughter in Australian hospital

Jayant Patel, and Indian-born US doctor who has been dubbed "Dr Death", has been found guilty of killing three Australian patients and of causing grievous bodily harm to a fourth.

By Bonnie Malkin in Sydney
Published: 12:35PM BST 29 Jun 2010

Patel, 60, worked at the Bundaberg Hospital in Queensland between 2003 and 2005 after leaving America, where he had been disciplined for "gross negligence" in 2000.

He did not inform his Australian colleagues of his professional history when he assumed the role of director of surgery, and went on to conduct several unnecessary, inappropriate and botched operations.

The disgraced doctor had pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter of Mervyn Morris, Gerardus Kemps and James Phillips, as well as the grievous bodily harm of Ian Vowels.

But after six days, the jury found him guilty on all counts.

During the 15-week trial, the jury heard how Patel removed a perfectly healthy bowel from Mr Vowles, now aged 63, and carried out a painful and lengthy operation on Mr Phillips, 46, who was in the final stages of throat cancer.

He caused the death of Mr Morris, 75, by failing to properly investigate the cause of his rectal bleeding, and unnecessarily removing part of his colon. Mr Kemps, 77, died after Patel had performed an oesophagectomy on him, but left him to bleed for hours, only opting to re-operate the following day.

Prosecutor Ross Martin said there was evidence that Patel was a man driven by "toxic ego" who performed surgeries that were beyond his skill level.

His defence claimed Patel was simply an overworked surgeon whose patients had all consented to the operations.

Patel was named Dr Death by the Australian media when he fled back to America in 2005 in an attempt to avoid standing trial for his crimes.

But he was extradited and arrived back in Brisbane in 2008.

Beryl Crosby, a patient advocate, said the verdict was a huge relief.

"I hope with all my heart that these people and their families can move on," she told the Australian Associated Press.

"For a lot of people this is going to be closure.

"The verdict was guilty, it doesn't matter what happens from here."

He will be sentenced on Thursday.

From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/7860734/American-Dr-Death-guilty-of-manslaughter-in-Australian-hospital.html

Train to U.S. spits out mutilated migrants

By Karl Penhaul, CNN
June 25, 2010 -- Updated 1217 GMT (2017 HKT)

TAPACHULA, Mexico (CNN) -- In the first four months of this year, more than 20,000 illegal migrants boarded the "train of death" at the railhead in Arriaga, southern Mexico, according to diplomats in the region. They all had one aim: "El Norte", the United States.

There are no official figures of how many may have fallen from the train and been maimed or killed after falling under its wheels.

But Olga Sanchez, who has been running a hostel to care for mutilated migrants in the city of Tapachula, says that over the past 20 years she has tended to thousands of men and women who have lost legs and arms.

Mexican Ruben Perez, 28, worked in construction and farming until he set out to cross illegally into the U.S. two years ago. He fell off the train near the Mexico-U.S. border and lost both legs.

"My mom told me not to go. She said it was better to stay in Mexico even if we only had a little. But I took the decision to leave.

"I wanted to go and earn money. Most people who go are able to progress in life and save enough to build their own homes. They go and rent a room usually at first but after a year or so they have their own house. I wanted to imitate that.

"Who knows who invented the name the 'American Dream?' It's not a dream, it could have become reality for me and so that's why you have to take the risk.

"The train was going fast and I waited for it to slow up. But it just carried on so I decided I was going to grab it. I began to run but the train was quicker than me. I grabbed the ladder and hung on but then my foot slipped off and went into the wheel.

"I asked myself how I was going to get my leg out. I wanted to push with my other leg but that got sucked in too. I was clinging on and my leg was spinning around in the wheel until it finally spat me out and I was crying for help. I was afraid to let go because I had no legs.

"Eventually I let go of the train and because I had no legs I just rolled. I shouted for help then passed out.

"I felt like a dog. One of those dogs that's dying in the street and is worth nothing. I thought to myself now I'm worth nothing."

Marcos Castro, 19, worked in construction before he left Honduras. He lost his right leg in April this year as he slipped under the train in southern Mexico, close to the border with Guatemala.

"I was hanging to the train but my sneakers slipped and the train was moving fast. I hung on but was only hanging by one hand and I had to let go.

"The train blows you out then sucks you in and then blows you out again. When it blew me out I managed to get my leg out but I could only get one out.

"I wanted to go to the United States to improve my life, to be able to work and to have my own things. But if I can't get there, I can't get there. What can I do about it? There's no alternative. I'll just have to go back.

"I can't continue to the United States, not anymore. How can I? My legs don't work. I'd never be able to get on that train again."

Olga Sanchez set up a hostel to care for these mutilated migrants. She says it was her promise to God after recovering from a life-threatening illness as a child.

She has received some international donations but raises the extra cash she needs to provide migrants with $2,000-a-time prosthetic legs by selling bags of home-baked bread at $2.

"Even trained medics have said to me that these migrants are dirty, worth nothing and a piece of trash. But to me the person who is dirty and has nothing is, to me, the person who is worth most. I will always defend the ones who have nothing the dirty ones, the ones left behind.

"Over the last 20 years I've seen more than 5,000 amputees. I used to pick them up from the tracks I picked up their bones and their remains, people who were almost dead.

"I remember the first one. His name was Baltazar. I picked his bones up from the track. He was dying clinging to life by a thread.

"I said to him remember you have a wife and children, remember you have to go home. Fight for your family. I was carrying his bones in my blouse. I was all bloodied.

"I laugh at the American dream. Sometimes the American dream turns into hell. It's a dream floating in the clouds. Not everybody can reach it and they suffer a tragedy."

From: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/06/24/mexico.amputees/index.html?hpt=C2&fbid=O_LyZpCfUD8

Youth Pastor Accused Of Sexting Teen Boy

Posted: 6:05 pm EDT June 25, 2010
Updated: 6:33 pm EDT June 25, 2010

COCOA, Fla. -- A Cocoa youth pastor was supposed to be a role model, but he's been arrested for sexting a teenager instead. WFTV learned Friday that there's more to Jermel Manns than that one sex crime.

Manns is a convicted sex offender from Illinois who never registered locally, and he got a youth pastor job from his uncle.

If you look up Jermel Manns in the Illinois sex registry database, he comes up with a Jacksonville, Illinois address, and the Illinois sex offender registry lists him as compliant.

But for the past two years he was actually living in Brevard County under the name Jermel Beckford, or as his youth group at church called him, Pastor J.

Jermel Manns is no stranger to the criminal justice system. The 36-year-old was convicted of molesting a teenage boy in Illinois nearly a decade ago.

In 2008 he moved to Florida, took up a job as youth pastor at the Celebration Tabernacle Church in Cocoa and assumed the name Jermel Beckford.

Dressed in a suicide prevention gown, he appeared in Brevard County’s jail to answer to a new sex charge.

The senior pastor at the church, and Jermel's uncle, Errol Beckford, said he knew nothing of his past and was stunned to hear of his arrest.

“I says, what? Are you kidding me? He was a good pastor. He had 75 kids here. He built it up and they loved him," Beckford said.

Rockledge police say he developed a close relationship with a 16-year-old boy and started sending sexually explicit text messages. One message asked the teen to perform a sexual act.

A friend of the victim saw it and word got to police.

"At this point we do not know if there are any more victims, but we're pleading to the community if you think you've been victimized please come forward we need that information," said Cpl. Alice DiBiase-Deakins, Rockledge Police Department.

Errol Beckford said the church did not run a nationwide background check, but he says they will for Manns’ replacement.

"Whoever that person is we learn from this incident, doesn't matter who it is. It could be the Pope, we're going to run a national and pay for it," Beckford said.

Manns is being held on one count of soliciting a sexual act with a minor, but authorities say he could face more charges for failing to register as a sex offender in Florida and for not notifying authorities in Illinois.

From: http://www.wftv.com/news/24046369/detail.html?cxntlid=cmg_cntnt_rss

Woman's Leg Cut Off In Accident

Mark Bruce, Reporter

Posted: 10:12 pm EDT June 26, 2010
Updated: 10:14 am EDT June 27, 2010

CLARK COUNTY, Ohio -- A woman lost part of her left leg in a lawn mower accident but authorities believe the actions of her son and paramedics kept her from sustaining even more injuries.

Sheriff's deputies said the 84-year-old woman was talking to her son as he stopped mowing the lawn at her home on Old Mill Road in Clark County Saturday evening.

As the son started up the tractor and lawn mower, his mother began to walk away. She slipped and her leg was trapped in the mower, cut off below the knee.

Hustead paramedics and Clark County Sheriff's Deputies arrived on scene within minutes.

Paramedic Ilva Richards said, "The son immediately applied a tourniquet in the thigh area which helped to control the blood loss. Had he not done that, she would have lost more blood then she did."

A Careflight helicopter responded to the scene but flight nurses said the tourniquet was not adequate enough to allow the woman to fly.

So paramedics fashioned a new one from a towel and tree branch.

Paramedic Zach Pitstick said, "It can apply a lot more pressure then what we had on there. We've learned you use anything you can if it's necessary."

Careflight transported the woman to Miami Valley Hospital where she's listed in critical condition.

From: http://www.whiotv.com/news/24057357/detail.html?cxntlid=cmg_cntnt_rss

5-Year-Old Girl's Throat Slashed In 'Horrific Crime'

Posted: 7:45 pm PDT June 27, 2010
Updated: 7:31 am PDT June 28, 2010

LAKE CUSHMAN, Wash. -- Mason County sheriff’s deputies said a man is in custody in connection with the homicide of a girl whose throat was slashed with a kitchen knife.

Police said the 5-year-old girl was killed at a home near Lake Cushman, west of Hoodsport, Sunday. Deputies said the death was first reported as an accident.

Investigators said when deputies and medics arrived at the home in the 200 block of North Mount Seattle Way at 6:13 p.m., the girl was dead. Police said the child's mother and an older sibling were still inside the house, and a 29-year-old man who is either the girl's father or stepfather was in a gazebo outside the home when officers arrived.

That man is in custody in connection with the killing. He was booked into the Mason County Jail Sunday night.

Chief Deputy Dean Byrd said the girl was killed with a large kitchen knife.

"In my 37 years, this is probably the most horrific crime that I have been involved in. It's very sad for me, the department, and for the community at large. It's just a horrific crime, and it's so senseless,” Byrd told KIRO 7 Eyewitness News.

Byrd said the family was vacationing at the home and may have been visiting from British Columbia.

From: http://www.kirotv.com/news/24063821/detail.html?cxntlid=cmg_cntnt_rss

Four Killed in a Few Hours in Bronx and Brooklyn

By SHARON OTTERMAN
Published: June 26, 2010

Three people were killed in Brooklyn and another in the Bronx early Saturday, and the three Brooklyn killings occurred within a six-block radius in Bushwick and Bedford-Stuyvesant, the police said. There was no evidence that any of the killings were related.

At 1:17 a.m., officers found a 22-year-old woman bleeding from multiple gunshot wounds on the ground at Hancock Street and Bushwick Avenue, the police said. She was pronounced dead on arrival at Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center.

Carol Vaughn, 57, was watching television when she heard the gunshots. “At first I thought it was firecrackers,” she said. She left her home to watch as paramedics tried to revive the woman, whom Ms. Vaughn said she did not know. At the scene Saturday morning, dried blood stained the pavement around a pay phone.

Ms. Vaughn, who has lived in the neighborhood for 22 years, said she was caught off guard by the violence, because crime has been on the decline. By last week, there had been four killings this year in the precinct, the 83rd, down from five during the same time period last year, according to the police.

“The neighborhood has gotten really good,” Ms. Vaughn added. “Every now and then there’s something. But it’s not like it was.”

Later, at 2:39 a.m., the police responded to another call three blocks away and discovered the body of a 32-year-old man at Halsey Street and Wilson Avenue. He had been shot in the back, the police said. Hours later, a shrine to the victim, identified as Zacuron Horton, had been set up at the corner.

Mr. Horton's family gathered at the home of his mother, Denise, on Saturday afternoon. "He was a good boy. He didn't bother too many,"
she said.

"I'm really confused," Ms. Horton said. "We're just trying to find out what happened on the corner."

Mr. Horton, a former United Parcel Service employee who was on disability, had two children, a 3-year-old daughter and a boy, 6, who had just finished kindergarten. His cousin Nyquone McMorris said the police hoped to find a surveillance video from the scene.

At 2:46 a.m., officers in the neighboring 81st Precinct responded to a report of a man with a stab wound to his chest at Halsey Street and Reid Avenue. The victim, Kevin Grandison, 26, was pronounced dead on arrival at Kings County Hospital, the police said.

On Saturday afternoon, the police arrested Glen King, 34, and charged him with second-degree homicide in connection with Mr. Grandison's death. The address provided for Mr. King is near the corner where Mr. Grandison's body was found. Mr. Grandison also lived nearby, and, according to his sister Tonia Williams, he was stabbed “over a stupid argument.”

“I don’t know much more than that,” Ms. Williams said from the stoop of the house where Mr. Grandison had lived. “I love him, and he will be deeply missed.”

Thomas Gilliam, 49, a cousin, said that he had heard the commotion in the moments before the stabbing, and that he believed the argument had begun a block away, though he did not know what it was about. He said that Mr. Grandison was about to become a father, and was going to start working with him next week at a warehouse job in Manhattan.

“He was a good dude,” he said. “Everyone in the neighborhood liked him.”

Homicides have been on the rise this year in the 81st Precinct, with nine reported as of June 20, up from six during the same period last year.

The Bronx killing occurred shortly after midnight in Soundview when Anna Maria Silva, 40, was fatally stabbed in a bedroom of her apartment on Watson Avenue, the police said. A man who the police said was known to the victim then called 911 and turned himself in when officers arrived.

The man, Fabian Faulkner, 26, was charged with murder and possession of a weapon, the police said, adding that a knife was recovered at the scene.

From: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/27/nyregion/27slay.html?src=me&ref=nyregion

Photostill from The Shining

Man pleads guilty to aggravated child molestation of stepsisters

By Amber Pittman
Crime/Education Reporter

POSTED June 13, 2010 12:01 a.m.

A 26-year-old man pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 25 years in prison and life on parole for the aggravated child molestation and statutory rape of his two juvenile stepsisters.

Brandon Wiggins initially requested a jury trial but after a disturbing video of the two girls during a forensic interview was displayed in court, he decided to take a negotiated plea. It also allowed for several of the charges (one charge of rape and three counts of child molestation) to be dropped.

This time last year, the charges came to light. Wiggins had been carrying on a sexual relationship with Juvenile A. It began the summer following her fifth grade year and continued until the summer after her seventh grade year. Although it was consensual, the law in Georgia is clear — any person under the age of 16-years-old cannot consent to a sexual act.

Juvenile A’s mother was the one who first noticed something was amiss when her daughter came to visit her in Chicago. She testified in court that she overheard the end of a conversation with her daughter in which she told someone she loved them. When asked who she was talking to, she said "Brandon, my stepbrother."

"It didn’t sound like an ‘I love you’ you would say to your stepbrother," she told the court. "I asked her if she’d had sex with him and she said ‘how did you know?’"

She contacted a detective in Chicago who told her she would have to file charges in Newton County and who gave her advice on how to proceed in the meantime, suggesting that she act like nothing was wrong and that she not threaten to call the authorities. The woman said that during that time she also learned that her eldest daughter might be pregnant, though it turned out to be just a scare.

When she brought Juvenile A back to Newton County she was immediately taken to the Newton County Sheriff’s Office and from there to A Child’s Voice, a child advocacy center, for a forensic interview. After that, she questioned her youngest daughter, Juvenile B, who admitted she knew about the relationship with Brandon and her sister.

"I asked her if anything had ever happened between them and she broke down crying," said the woman. "She said that he tried to have sex with her and it hurt and she told him no…" she said, sobbing.

Juvenile B was then taken to the NCSO for a forensic interview as well. The sisters’ interviews could not have been more different. Juvenile A was guarded and protective of Brandon, still considering him her boyfriend, while her sister, who was 11-years-old at the time, accused her stepbrother of raping her.

The girls father took the stand next, testifying that he was no longer married to Wiggins’ mother and that he found out about the sexual relationship between Wiggins and his oldest daughter from Wiggins himself during a camping/fishing trip to Helen.

"Brandon came and told me…" he began, pausing for several seconds to compose himself. "He told me that he messed with my daughter," he continued, sniffing. "He told me that she might be pregnant… And then I hit him."

Newton County Assistant District Attorney Melanie Bell played the forensic interviews for the jury. In Juvenile A’s interview, she admitted she knew why she was there but that "she didn’t like talking about it." She also said that she and Wiggins were "really close" but that she wouldn’t call him her boyfriend because her parents would get mad. She said he was nice and cute and that she wasn’t with him because "we aren’t allowed to be together."

She eventually said the two had engaged in sex more than 30 times in Newton County, sometimes in the living room, other times in her bedroom, the bathroom or the barn.

Juvenile B was much more open in her forensic interview. When asked why she was there she said because she had been "abused and raped by Brandon."

She said the first incident occurred on the couch in the living room. She was watching "Hannah Montana" and Wiggins came over and started touching her inappropriately and that she told him to stop but instead of stopping he pulled her pants down and forced himself on her.

"He pulled my pants off and I tried to pull them up but it was too late," she said, adding that she was able to get away and that Wiggins had followed, telling her if she told they would both get in trouble. She said that she ran outside and stayed there until she heard her father’s truck, which was when she knew it would be safe to go inside.

A second incident occurred in the bathroom when Wiggins forced his way inside the room and forced her to perform oral sex on him. During the video, her father dropped his head into his hands and started to cry, several women in the jury could also be seen crying.

"Brandon said ‘don’t tell or we’ll all go to jail,’" she said. She also expressed concern that she would have to testify against Wiggins in court, said that when he got out of jail "he will probably come find me and hurt me again."

During a recess following Juvenile B’s forensic video, Wiggins decided to take a plea deal.

On the aggravated child molestation charges he received life on probation with the first 25 years to be served with no possibility of parole and 20 years confinement on the statutory rape charges which will run concurrent. Wiggins’ mother covered her mouth and cried when he admitted his guilt on the charges.

Although both juvenile victims had not been in the courtroom during the trial, they were permitted to come in for sentencing. Juvenile A had prepared a victim impact statement that she asked Bell to read to the court.

"You know what you did to me was really wrong…" the statement reads. "I know it will always be in my head and I will never forget it… What really hurts me the most is what you did to my sister… I wish I had told earlier so my sister wouldn’t have to live with this… But I will not let you win this battle…"

The girls’ mother addressed the court next, telling the judge that Juvenile A suffers from panic attacks and has tried to hurt herself.

"What he’s done to my kids is wrong," she said, crying. "They suffer every day."

Their father expressed guilt. "I feel bad for not protecting them more," he said.

After sentencing Wiggins, Newton County Superior Court Judge Samuel Ozburn addressed the victims.

"I hope this will be the first step toward rebuilding your lives so that you can go forward. And know that you did win."

From: http://www.covnews.com/news/article/12895/

Man accused in baby-selling scheme beaten in jail

Saturday, June 26, 2010

(06-26) 14:05 PDT Salinas, Calif. (AP) -- Authorities say a father accused of being part of a couple who tried to sell their baby for $25 outside a Walmart is recovering after fellow jail inmates beat him.

Thirty-eight-year-old Patrick Fousek and 20-year-old Samantha Tomasini pleaded not guilty to child endangerment and drug charges Friday.

Fousek appeared in court with a bruised eye and stitches. Sheriff's Cmdr. Mike Richards said the 38-year-old was attacked Thursday by inmates at the Monterey County Jail.

He also suffered two cracked ribs and is now being held away from the general population.

Fousek is accused of approaching two women Wednesday and asking if they'd like to purchase his child.

Salinas police say the women thought he was joking but became suspicious and called police after he persisted.

From: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/06/26/state/n131017D19.DTL

Auburn boy shot in face

Last Update: 6/26 2:23 pm

AUBURN, NY (WSYR-TV) – Auburn police say an 11-year-old boy has been taken to the hospital after being shot in the face. Police say the shooting happened in the Sheridan Street area on the Southside of the city.

Early Saturday morning, police say an 11-year-old shot another 11-year-old with a .22-caliber rifle. The child injured was taken to University Hospital. His condition is not known at this time.

Police are continuing to investigate this incident, but say it appears to be an accident.

From: http://www.9wsyr.com/news/local/story/Auburn-boy-shot-in-face/LGz3FR10dkOiBbYNAaZGjg.cspx

Crazed lover kills mother of three in Bronx, one of four homicides in city

BY Kate Nocera, Matthew Lysiak, Ben Chapman and John Lauinger
DAILY NEWS WRITERS

Saturday, June 26th 2010, 2:28 PM

Two weeks ago, a Bronx woman e-mailed a photo of her boyfriend to her daughter.

She told her that if anything happened to her, the man in the photo would be the one responsible.

The dark prophecy appeared to come true Saturday after Anna Silva's boyfriend was charged with stabbing her to death.

"He knew my mom wanted to leave him. That's why he killed her," a devastated Sirena Frias, 18, said. "He was very jealous."

Silva, 40, threw a birthday party for her 1-year-old grandson on Friday night. The boyfriend, Fabian Faulkner, 26, was there. He was smiling and having a good time, witnesses said.

After the party, the couple began to argue and things quickly turned violent. Silva, a mother of three, tried to get away - even pushing the air-conditioner out of the window, witnesses said.

"He barricaded her into the room and wouldn't open the door," Frias said.

Her attacker cornered her and stabbed her to death. Then he called 911. Just after midnight, police found Faulkner inside the bedroom of Silva's second-floor Soundview apartment. They also found a knife.

Over the next 2-1/2 hours, three more people would be murdered in Brooklyn - two in Bushwick and one in Bedford-Stuyvesant.

Aleisha Thompson, 22, was on a pay phone, possibly calling 911, when she was shot several times outside a deli at Hancock St. and Bushwick Ave. Thompson, who lived down the street from where she was shot, died at Woodhull Hospital shortly after the 1:17 a.m. attack. Police haven't made an arrest.

At 2:39 a.m., cops raced to Halsey St. and Wilson Ave. and found ZacuranHorton, 32, dead of a gunshot wound to his back. No one was arrested in that shooting.

Six minutes later, Kevin Grandison, a 26-year-old construction worker, was stabbed to death outside a bodega on Malcolm X Blvd. at Halsey St. The Bedford-Stuyvesant murder nearly erupted into more violence after a crowd of more than 20 people gathered outside the home of a man they believed to be the killer.

"A crowd formed because they wanted justice," said the victim's brother-in-law, Ivan Sanks, 31. "Then about 20 cops showed up with their batons and made us go around the corner."

Police later arrested Glen King, 34, a resident of the home witnesses swarmed.

NYPD stats through June 20 - the most recent data available - show murders on the rise citywide. There have been 208 murders this year, a 7.2% increase from 194 during the same time period last year.

From: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/06/26/2010-06-26_crazed_lover_kills_mother_of_three_in_bronx_one_of_four_homicides_in_city.html

Salem death spurs state review of utility disconnect practices

By CHELSEY POLLOCK

Union Leader Correspondent
Friday, Jun. 25, 2010

SALEM – Gov. John Lynch is calling for a statewide review of utility shut-off procedures after the death of a Salem woman relying on an oxygen machine.

Kay Phaneuf, 53, of 18 Charles St. was taken to Caritas Holy Family Hospital in Methuen, Mass., on Monday after rescue workers found her unconscious and without a pulse about 10 a.m. The woman's husband had stepped out of the house that morning and called 911 after returning home and finding Phaneuf unconscious, Salem police Sgt. Rob Morin said.

Rescue workers were able to resuscitate Phaneuf before transferring her to Holy Family in critical condition. She died Thursday night, according to a hospital spokesman.

About one hour before Phaneuf was found in cardiac arrest, a National Grid meter technician had visited the home to disconnect power, according to David Graves, a spokesman for the company.

No one has asserted there was any indication the power shut-off directly caused Phaneuf's cardiac arrest, but "it could be that they are connected and that that was a contributing factor," Morin said.

"It's a terrible tragedy," Graves said Friday. "Our sympathies are with the family, and this is also a very difficult time for the individual who did shut the service off, and we are doing as much as we can to provide support for that individual."

Although Graves said he could not comment specifically on why power was shut off, he said the residence had been notified in writing that service would be terminated.

Graves said the National Grid technician followed procedure, both ringing the doorbell and knocking on the door at 18 Charles St. to try to make direct contact with the residents before cutting power, but no one came to the door.

"A review that we've undertaken in this case shows there's nothing to indicate that anything other than proper procedures took place," Graves said Wednesday.

State law prohibits utility companies from turning off power to anyone who relies on it for medical reasons provided a letter from a doctor confirming the condition is sent to the utility company, said Amanda Noonan, New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission consumer affairs director.

Once a medical need has been established, Noonan said, a "medical emergency certification" is applied to the account for 60 days. During that time, she said, no utility may be terminated without specific permission from the PUC.

Graves said emergency certification for 18 Charles St. expired "sometime in the early spring'' and wasn't renewed.

"Our practice is if the certification expires, we notify the customer in writing that it is about to expire or has expired," he said. "Without proof or notice that there is (an ongoing) medical condition at that address, there is no way for us to know."

Despite precautions taken by utilities, there were two incidents in a week. On Thursday, just days after Phaneuf's situation made headlines, Public Service of New Hampshire mistakenly disconnected power to a Merrimack home where Barbara Castillo, 50, relies on an oxygen machine while she sleeps.

PSNH spokesman Martin Murray said Castillo had a valid medical emergency certification, but a computer glitch applied the certificate to only one of two meters at her home. Power was disconnected in error for a short period Thursday, but Castillo was unharmed.

Because of that incident, PSNH is examining how emergency certification is handled, Murray said, so that something similar to the Merrimack shut-off doesn't happen in the future.

PUC Executive Director Debra Howland said her agency has no record of an intentional power disconnection leading to a hospitalization or a death in at least the past 15 years.

Howland said the PUC has opened an investigation into the Salem incident and has asked for a full report from National Grid by Wednesday.

Friday morning, Lynch asked the commission to take things a step further. In a letter to PUC Chairman Thomas Getz, the governor asked for a broad review of power shut-off procedures for all utility companies in the state.

"This review should include an assessment of the adequacy of policies and safeguards related to power shut-offs and a determination of whether those policies are being rigorously adhered to by New Hampshire's utility companies," he wrote.

Lynch wants a complete report with recommendations by July 30.

Howland said the commission will collect and compare disconnect policies from all state utilities to examine what works and what doesn't.

"I think what we really want to do is look at the best practices between utilities and then look and see if there is a uniform policy that could be applied across utilities," she said.

Graves, the National Grid spokesman, said the Salem incident has prompted his company to begin its own in-house evaluation.

"This has sparked us to re-examine what our policies are to see if there's anything we could've done that would've prevented the shut-off of service to the house," Graves said. "We still have found we are in compliance with state regulations and our own existing policies, but the question is what we can do to be better."

From: http://theunionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=NH+woman+dies+after+power+cut+to+home&articleId=a9d45643-bcd3-4eea-9705-f9fb8417ffbb

Human foetus feels no pain before 24 weeks, study says

Last updated at 00:51 GMT, Friday, 25 June 2010 01:51 UK

A cat that had its back feet severed by a combine harvester has been given two prosthetic limbs in a pioneering operation by a UK vet.

The new feet are custom-made implants that "peg" the ankle to the foot. They are bioengineered to mimic the way deer antler bone grows through the skin.

The operation - a world first - was carried out by Noel Fitzpatrick, a veterinary surgeon based in Surrey.

His work is explored in a BBC documentary called The Bionic Vet.

The cat, named Oscar, was referred to Mr Fitzpatrick by his local vet in Jersey, following the accident last October. Oscar was struck by the combine harvester whilst dozing in the sun.

The prosthetic pegs, called intraosseous transcutaneous amputation prosthetics (Itaps) were developed by a team from University College London led by Professor Gordon Blunn, who is head of UCL's Centre for Biomedical Engineering.

Professor Blunn and his team have worked in partnership with Mr Fitzpatrick to develop these weight-bearing implants, combining engineering mechanics with biology.

Mr Fitzpatrick explained: "The real revolution with Oscar is [that] we have put a piece of metal and a flange into which skin grows into an extremely tight bone."

"We have managed to get the bone and skin to grow into the implant and we have developed an 'exoprosthesis' that allows this implant to work as a see-saw on the bottom of an animal's limbs to give him effectively normal gait."

Professor Blunn told BBC News the idea was initially developed for patients with amputations who have a "stump socket".

"This means they fix their artifical limb with a sock, which fits over the stump. In a lot of cases this is sucessful, but you [often] get rubbing and pressure sores."

The Itap technology is being tested in humans and has already been used to create a prosthetic for a woman who lost her arm in the July 2005 London bombings.

"The intriguing thing with Oscar was that he had two implants - one in each back leg, and in quite an unusual site," Professor Blunn told BBC News.

He said that the success of this operation showed the potential of the technology.

"Noel has some brilliant ideas," he added. "And we're continuing to work closely with him to develop new technologies."

From: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science_and_environment/10404251.stm

Teen who allegedly murdered a toddler to appear in court

Last Update: 6/25 10:57 am

Oneida County (WSYR-TV) - An Oneida County 13-year-old accused of killing a toddler he was babysitting is due in court today.

Alec Champagne, an eighth-grader in the Whitesboro School District, has been charged with murdering a 2-year-old at a Yorkville home. Police say the boy slammed the toddler's head against a refrigerator door and dresser. They also say he sexually assaulted the child but there is no law that allows them to charge someone so young with sexual abuse.

Champagne is currently being tried as a juvenile. If convicted, he could face anywhere from five years to life in prison.

Teenage babysitter charged with murder of toddler
June 21

Yorkville, Oneida Co. (WSYR-TV/AP) - Police say a teenager is responsible for the death of a toddler, and have charged him with murder in the second degree. They also say the teenager sexually assaulted the toddler.

The police say Alec Champagne, an eighth grader in the Whitesboro School District, was baby-sitting the 2-year-old female victim and her 1 1/2-year-old sister in their home when he beat the victim and struck her in the head repeatedly. Police said the teenager's assault included hitting the girl's head against a refrigerator and also a dresser drawer. He is also accused of striking the child in the face with his hand.

They also say Champagne sexually assaulted her. Because the charge of sexual assault does not exist for a suspect so young, the police decided murder in the second degree was the most appropriate charge.

The child was discovered unresponsive by her mother, and was pronounced dead a short time later.

Champagne was arraigned in the Town of Floyd Court on the murder charge and will be remanded to a secure facility under the control of the State Office of Children and Family Services.

Police say evidence indicates the child was alive at 1:00 a.m. when the mother arrived home and checked on her. The autopsy was performed at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital on Sunday determined the cause of death to be blunt force trauma.

Update: 2-year-old died from blow to head
June 20

Yorkville (WSYR-TV) The two year old who police found dead in her Yorkville home on Saturday morning died from blunt force trauma to the back of her head, according to an Oneida County coroner.

Police say the toddler’s babysitter was watching the child since Friday night at the home on Ney Avenue. When the mother arrived home on Saturday morning, police say the child was alert and talking.

But moments after the mother got home, police received a call that the child was not breathing. When police arrived, the child was dead.

From: http://www.9wsyr.com/news/local/story/Teen-who-allegedly-murdered-a-toddler-to-appear/f0v8BtZ_aUmdzdjfWTFVwQ.cspx?rss=112

Wedding marred, Behala family swallows pills

Monotosh Chakraborty, TNN, Jun 23, 2010, 05.18am IST

KOLKATA: An elderly couple and their daughter from Behala tried to commit suicide after a local youth, who had lent some money to the family, reportedly threw a spanner in the girl’s wedding plans.

Prabhat Das and his wife Tanushree had been preparing for their daughter Shampa’s (name changed) wedding next month. The invitation cards were ready and the caterer had been contacted. But everything changed last week after the groom’s family called up to say that they had decided to back out.

And on Tuesday morning, the family was rescued from a shabby hotel room at Ajoynagar on the southern fringes of the city and taken to Peerless Hospital. All three had consumed sleeping pills and were unconscious.

Das was an employee of Metal Box who earned his living as a private tutor ever since the company shut down. He had reportedly borrowed some money from a local youth called Debraj.

Neighbours and the police pieced together a sad account of woes which might have led them to take the extreme step. Twenty-seven-year-old Shampa’s marriage had to be called off last week after Debraj apparently tipped off the groom’s family about his relationship with Shampa, said police. “Debraj also demanded the money that he had lent Das and insulted him publicly a few days ago,” said a police officer.

Das was apparently being hounded by Debraj for quite some time. According to neighbours, the youth had threatened the family with dire consequences if she was married off elsewhere. Even on Monday evening, he had come to the Das’s Kabiguru Sarani home along with a friend. But the family had left the house by then.

“He returned on Tuesday and made a ruckus. The youth left after having realized that the family had not come back,” said a police officer.

According to sources, the family had left their home on Monday itself. On the same day, they checked into the hotel at Ajoynagar. Those at the reception had no inkling of their motive. They mentioned ‘daughter’s exam’ as the purpose of their visit in the register. They walked into their room and never opened the door till hotel authorities broke it open on Wednesday morning after the family did not answer their calls.

Empty sleeping pill cases and cold drink bottles were found scattered on the floor. A note book was lying on a side table in which Das has apparently scribbled why he was forced to take the extreme step. Even though the police are yet to go through it, they believe that humiliation and embarrassment resulting from the broken marriage had driven them to a corner.

It was the neighbours who told the police about Debraj and the cops detained him for questioning along with a friend. He was let off with a warning. None had any idea that the insult and the humiliation heaped on them had already made the Das family crumble.

“Shampa was doing her MA in psychology and also worked as a counsellor,” said a neighbour.

A pall of gloom descended on the locality as neighbours threw a ring around the house. There was a silver lining for the hapless family, though. Even as they struggled for their lives, news reached the neighbourhood that Shampa’s prospective groom, who had earlier backed out, has agreed to the marriage.

From: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Kolkata-/Wedding-marred-Behala-family-swallows-pills/articleshow/6080717.cms

Rats Breathe With Lab-Grown Lungs

by Mitch Leslie on June 24, 2010 2:53 PM

For the first time, an animal has drawn a breath with lungs cultivated in the lab. Although preliminary, the results might eventually lead to replacement lungs for patients.

People whose lungs are failing because of diseases such as emphysema or cystic fibrosis face a grim outlook. Only 10% to 20% of patients who undergo lung transplants survive for 10 years, versus about 50% for heart recipients. Research to create new lungs in the lab has lagged because of their complex structure and multiple cell types, notes biomedical engineer Laura Niklason of Yale University.

Tissue engineers are enthusiastic about a technique called decellularization that involves using detergent to remove all of the cells from an organ, leaving a scaffold consisting of the fibrous material between cells. The material serves as a template for fresh cells, orchestrating their assembly and growth into a new organ. The technique has yielded implantable liver grafts for rats. And in 2008, a 30-year-old woman received a replacement for one of the lung's main air passages, which scientists had seeded with her own cells.

Now Niklason and colleagues say they have used the method to produce rodent lungs. The team started with decellularized adult rat lungs, which retain the organs' branching airways and blood vessel network, and added a mixture of lung cells from newborn rats. Niklason says that the crucial step was nurturing the would-be lungs in a bioreactor that circulates fluid—simulating what would happen during fetal development—or air through them. The cells stuck to the scaffold in the right locations and multiplied. After up to 8 days in the bioreactor, they had coalesced into what the researchers' tests indicated was functional lung tissue.

To determine whether the new organs worked, the researchers removed rats' left lungs and stitched in lab-grown replacements. X-rays showed that the implanted lungs were inflating, though not fully. Tests of gas levels in blood flowing to and from the replacement organs showed that they were taking in oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide at 95% of normal efficiency. The researchers allowed the animals to breathe with the lungs for up to 2 hours before euthanizing them because of blood clots.

"We've shown that it's possible to engineer a lung that can perform the single most important function—exchange of gases," says Niklason, whose team reports its findings online today in Science. She describes the results as one advance in a "20- to 25-year project" and cautions that a huge obstacle lies ahead. Researchers need to identify cells—possibly adult stem cells from the patient—that can reconstruct lung tissue without provoking attack by the immune system, the problem that plagues current transplant recipients.

Tissue engineer Joan Nichols of the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston praises most of the study. "It started out beautifully, it was so well done." However, she argues that the organs were implanted prematurely. The bleeding the researchers detected within the lungs suggests that the organs weren't ready, she says. Nichols recommends a much longer growth period—say, 60 days—and further testing to make sure the lungs are sound. "The answer is not just to implant and see if it works," she says.

From: http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2010/06/rats-breathe-with-lab-grown-lung.html

Man admits role in Jada Justice killing

Plea agreement reduces charges, requires testimony against former girlfriend

June 22, 2010

BY RUTH ANN KRAUSE, POST-TRIBUNE CORRESPONDENT

A Hobart man has admitted his role in the beating death of 2-year-old Jada Justice of Portage and has agreed to testify against his then-girlfriend, who faces life without parole if convicted of murder and other charges.

Timothy John Tkachik, 24, admitted he joined Engelica Castillo in the beating of the girl, who had been in the couple's care at their home at 3925 Missouri St., Hobart, between June 12 and June 16, 2009.

Castillo became irritated with some things Jada had done, including dumping a package of drink mix and spilling a container of syrup, and repeatedly struck the child, plea documents state.

Tkachik delivered several blows to Jada's head and held the girl down while Castillo repeatedly whipped her with a belt. Tkachik allowed the beating to continue over an extended period of time, the records state.

Tkachik also admitted that during the same time period while the couple was in a car, Jada stopped breathing as a result of the injuries she received from the beatings. Tkachik recognized the "dire circumstances faced by Jada Justice" and the need for prompt medical attention. Neither Tkachik nor Castillo called 911 or took the girl to the hospital for treatment.

Tkachik led police to Jada's body, which had been burned before it was encased in concrete in a plastic bin and left in a swampy area near Otis in rural LaPorte County. Castillo had reported the girl missing after she left her in the car while she went inside a Gary gas station for cigarettes and milk. Castillo's report to police prompted a nine-day search by federal, state and local authorities before the girl's body was found June 25.

Tkachik, who pleaded guilty to two counts of neglect of a dependent, both class A felonies, faces from 20 to 50 years in prison. The plea agreement, which was taken under advisement by Lake Superior Court Judge Thomas Stefaniak Jr., calls for the sentences to be served concurrently and for charges of murder, battery, a class A felony, and misdemeanor false informing to be dismissed.

Trial Supervisor David Urbanski and defense attorney Herbert Shaps will argue an appropriate sentence at Tkachik's Sept. 10 sentencing hearing.

Meanwhile, Castillo, 19, has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, neglect of a dependent, battery and false informing. Her jury trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 2. If convicted, she faces a possible sentence of life in prison without parole.

Jada's mother had dropped off her daughter at the residence of her cousin, Castillo, on June 8 for a planned two-week stay.

From: http://www.post-trib.com/news/lake/2416862,new-tkachik0622.article

Man charged with bestiality

By Amber Pittman
Crime/Education Reporter

POSTED June 24, 2010 11:29 a.m.

A 37-year-old man was arrested Tuesday morning and charged with bestiality after several witnesses allegedly saw him having sexual intercourse with several horses.

Officers from the Covington Police Department were called to a home on Lunsford Circle at 8:58 a.m. When they arrived they met with the homeowner who was walking Byron Christopher Jordan toward the patrol car. When they spoke with the homeowner they learned he had witnessed Jordan having sex with one of his horses.

According to CPD Public Information Officer Lt. Wendell Wagstaff, Jordan was wearing only pajama bottoms which were extremely dirty and had the front fly opened. He also reportedly had a strong odor about his person.

Officers spoke with neighbors who had witnessed Jordan allegedly have sex with one horse, walk away from that one and go to a second horse and have sex with it before moving on to the third horse, which was in the corral, and begin having sex with that horse as well. They notified the owner, who had to physically pull him off the third horse.

“Witnesses said they figured if they called 911, dispatch operators would just think it was a prank,” said Wagstaff.

Jordan was charged with giving false name to an officer and bestiality and transferred to the Newton County Detention Center. He received a $3,500 bond and was bonded out on June 23, according to officials at the Newton County Detention Center. If convicted of bestiality Jordan could be sentenced to between one and five years of confinement.

From: http://www.covnews.com/news/article/13047/

Shameless mugger beats up, robs 85-year-old woman in East Harlem

BY John Lauinger
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Friday, June 25th 2010, 1:16 AM



Cops are hunting for a shameless thug who robbed an 85-year-old woman, knocking her to the pavement as she swung her cane in self-defense, police said.

The mugger pounced on the woman on E. 121 St. in East Harlem at about 11:15 a.m. on June 5, but police released a new surveillance video yesterday that showed the heartless crime.

The mugger, described as a Latino in his 30s, accosted the woman and snatched the wallet from her purse. She hit her head as she fell and sustained injuries, cops said. The mugger then yanked her up from the sidewalk.

From: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/06/24/2010-06-24_what_a_punk_vid_shows_him_pummel_granny_85.html

2 killed in shootings at pot stores

LAPD says the L.A. dispensaries were the targets of attempted robberies.

By Robert J. Lopez, Los Angeles Times
June 25, 2010

Two people were killed and one wounded Thursday in two separate robbery attempts at Los Angeles medical marijuana clinics.

An employee was slain Thursday night about 9:15 p.m. at the Hollywood Holistic store in the 1600 block of North El Centro Avenue, the Los Angeles Police Department said.

Earlier in the day, a worker at a medical marijuana dispensary in Echo Park was killed and another was wounded in an apparent robbery, police said. In that incident, shots were fired after an unknown number of suspects stormed into the Higher Patch Holistic Care store at 1302 Sunset Blvd. shortly before 4:15 p.m., the Los Angeles Police Department said.

The shootings come as Los Angeles officials attempt to regulate hundreds of marijuana stores that have popped up amid California's dispensary boom.

Los Angeles became an epicenter of dispensary activity after the Obama administration announced in March 2009 that it would not prosecute medical marijuana stores that adhered to state law that allows selling and using medical marijuana in certain instances. Although the city had a moratorium on new dispensaries, officials failed to enforce the ban.

In March, LAPD detectives served search warrants at East Hollywood and Mid-Wilshire clinics and arrested three people. And in September, police arrested a suspect in connection with several robberies at marijuana dispensaries in the San Fernando Valley.

In the Echo Park shooting, LAPD Officer Rosario Herrera said investigators "believe it's a robbery" that led to the violence but had not determined what was taken. The suspects fled and had not been apprehended as of Thursday night.

From: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0625-pot-shooting-20100625,0,4535737.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fmostviewed+%28L.A.+Times+-+Most+Viewed+Stories%29

Gilbert man accused of child molestation, prostitution

By Nathan Gonzalez - Jun. 24, 2010 04:13 PM
The Arizona Republic

A Gilbert man faces molestation and prostitution charges for allegedly bribing his teenaged victim with gifts in exchange for sex, according to police.

William Flanagan, 41, was arrested and booked into the Maricopa County 4th Avenue jail on several counts of sexual conduct with a minor, child molestation and child prostitution, according to Gilbert police.

Police began their investigation after the 16-year-old victim told a friend of her two-year sexual relationship with Flanagan in a home on the 2500 block of East Del Rio Court, said Sgt. Mark Marino, a police spokesman. That friend then notified police.

"If somebody discloses this type of information to someone, it's paramount that law enforcement be contacted with it," Marino said.

In an interview with police Wednesday, the victim stated Flanagan had molested her multiple times over two years, with the last incident occurring about three weeks ago, Marino said.

"On some occasions he would offer gifts or other types of items in exchange for sex," Marino said. "It's unfortunate, but that's the reality of the situation."

There are two other children living in the home, but none appear to be victims, police said. Children Protective Services was notified and is investigating the case, although the other children were not removed from the home.

Flanagan was arrested at Gilbert police headquarters without incident.

From: http://www.azcentral.com/community/gilbert/articles/2010/06/24/20100624gilbert-arrest-child-molestation.html

Suspect sought for masturbating near cemetery

June 14, 2010

By QMI Agency

Police in Newfoundland are searching for a man who has allegedly been exposing himself and masturbating near a community graveyard.

The RCMP say the man, who is in his mid-to-late 30s and about six-feet tall, was seen twice last week at a cemetery in Victoria Cove, about 50 km north of Gander.

The first sighting occurred Wednesday evening. A driver spotted the man masturbating by the side of the road.

Police said a second sighting of a man masturbating near the cemetery was reported Friday. The same witness drove by again about an hour later and saw the suspect standing naked by the roadway.

From: http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2010/06/14/14381201.html

Witches' Sabbath 1789 by GOYA Y LUCIENTES, Francisco de

The old superstitious, heathen cult of Pan that was persecuted by the Church but which still persisted in the more remote corners of the country was the subject of Goya's attack in this painting. Among a group of fanatic and stupidly credulous women and witches sits a huge ram, demanding one of the children as sacrifice. On the ground lies the emaciated body of a child. The moon and a swarm of bats overshadow the day and darken the sky. The symbols all point to the Spanish Inquisition.

From: http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/g/goya/2/218goya.html

West Valley cops chase down, use Taser on nude woman

By Bob Mims
The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated Jun 23, 2010 03:20PM

Two car chases, a totaled police cruiser and an extended foot pursuit of a naked woman through sagebrush finally ended with a Taser being used to subdue her.

No, it was not a typical call for the West Valley Police Department.

“A man was outside his vehicle on [State Road] 111 putting up home business signs when this woman pulled up next to him, got out of her vehicle, naked, and stole his car and drove off,” said West Valley City police Capt. Tom McLachlan.

Initially, the report was filed with police in neighboring West Jordan at about 5 a.m. Tuesday.

The man called 911, hopped behind the wheel of the woman’s abandoned car and gave chase, northbound on State Road 111 and into West Valley City. She left the highway and veered onto a dirt road leading into a field owned by Alliant Technologies, got stuck and then fled on foot into the brush.

West Valley police, assisted by Alliant security, scoured the rugged sagebrush and grasslands for their suspect, described as 5-foot-5, 120 to 130 pounds, thin and with reddish-brown hair.

“Of course, there was no clothing description available,” McLachlan said.

A West Valley officer soon spotted the woman hiding behind a bush, and as he approached, a second officer arrived in his squad car. She refused to surrender, and as the officers moved in she broke away — and hopped behind the wheel of the cruiser, speeding away in a cloud of dust and dragging the officers a short distance before they let go.

Neither officer was seriously hurt and the chase resumed, with the woman driving the police car through a fence gate and then hitting a dirt berm when she missed a curve. “She was airborne about 50 feet before crashing into another berm,” McLachlan said.

The woman, slightly bloodied, fled the ruined squad car and streaked into the weeds again, chased on foot by the two officers.

When she tried to double back toward the highway, at one point wriggling through a barbed wire fence, other officers were waiting for her.

“She was not obeying commands to stop, cease and desist, anything,” McLachlan said, adding an officer finally stunned her with his Taser when the woman appeared to be making another break.

From: http://sltrib.com/sltrib/home/49807411-73/woman-valley-west-police.html.csp

Suspect in baby shooting, shot 14-16 times, should survive

Last Update: 6/23 7:12 pm

Vienna, Oneida County (WSYR-TV/AP) - Evidence markers sit in the grass, just feet from scattered children's toys, marking the place where State Police say a father shot and killed his three-month-old son Tuesday morning.

State Police say Adam Theall, 21, shot and killed his three-month-old son Eithen Tuesday morning in front of a state trooper. Theall then turned his weapon toward troopers, who shot and injured him. Theall sustained 14 to 16 shots, according to the State Police. Despite the extent of his wounds, State Police expect Theall to survive.

He was scheduled for surgery at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The police still have not charged him with any new crimes. They say they can't charge him until he is aware enough to understand what he is being charged with. The police are investigating past incidents involving Theall and the child's mother, Jamie Baker.

In a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Trooper Francis Coots said that two females had called 911 around 9:00 a.m. to report that Adam Theall, 21, had threatened to kill his child, Eithen Theall, at 3609 Pine Road in the Town of Vienna. The home belongs to Theall's parents.

Theall allegedly shot his child when Trooper Carlo Gennario arrived on scene around 9:30 a.m. "As soon as the trooper got out of his car, he did it," said Coots.

Coots says that shortly after Theall shot his son, two other troopers arrived and they all asked Theall to drop his weapon. When Theall pointed the weapon at the troopers, the three opened fire and he was hit multiple times. "The actions of the troopers today are truly what they're trained to do. Their actions were heroic," said Coots.

Theall was taken by helicopter to University Hospital where he is in critical condition. Eithen was pronounced dead at the hospital at 10:04 a.m.

Two other children under five years old were inside the home on Pine Road, and both were left unharmed in the incident.

According to the police Theall does not live with his parents. Theall lives at 167 Pine Haven Circle in Rome.

Adam Theall had previous encounters with law enforcement, including one last Friday, where police were called to a domestic incident where they say he was taking his anger out on some trees.

Coots said that Theall will likely face a charge of second degree murder.

The baby's mother, Jamie Baker, just lost her brother at the beginning of May. He was killed in a shooting in Rome.

Oneida County gunman had violent criminal history

Oneida County (WSYR-TV) - When an Oneida County man killed his infant son and then threatened State Troopers, it wasn't his first collision with the law.

Theall has been involved in numerous incidents with the police before. In 2005, he violated a family court order and was charged with disorderly conduct. In 2008, he went to jail for three months after being charged with drunk driving, vehicular assault and several traffic violations. He was on probation at the time of Tuesday's incident.

He was also charged with misdemeanor assault in 2009 and, in a separate incident, he was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and assault.

Most recently, police were called to a domestic incident only four days prior to Tuesday's shooting. They say Theall was taking his anger out on some trees.

Theall's behavior didn't endear him to any neighbors either.

"I hate to call people names but he wasn't the greatest," said Barbara Russell, whose home is just a few doors down from Theall's.

Russell had observed Theall getting into fights and arguments several times, including one with her son.

"I kept my doors locked, even during the day and kept an eye on my grandchildren. He'd walk by here every time he'd see my son, he'd start calling him names, challenging him, he wasn't a very stable person," Russell said.

Many of Theall's neighbors say they have seen the police at his mobile home on several occasions several times in the past few years.

Lynn Hogsworth is a childhood friend of Theall's and came to the scene of the shooting shortly after it happened Tuesday morning.

"Like I said, Adam was a good kid as far as I know, he's had problems lately, some issues going on in his life, which we all do," she said.

But these issues, have now had devastating consequences.

From: http://www.9wsyr.com/news/local/story/Police-Suspect-in-baby-shooting-shot-14-16-times/wD74yx_pIkmBT_AuzztsfQ.cspx

Man struck by lightning, mauled by bear

Posted on Tuesday, June 22, 2010

By Paul A. Sprecht | News & Observer

Some guys have all the luck.

And then there's Rick Oliver, who might be one of the unluckiest men in the state, if not the world.

Oliver was mauled by a bear in his otherwise peaceful front yard a few weeks ago.

"It was like getting struck by lightning," he said.

Turns out, Oliver might be one of the few people in the world capable of accurately making the bear-lightning analogy.

And for Oliver, 51, the two incidents seem to go hand in hand.

Ever since he was struck by lightning in 2006, Oliver says, he's had trouble sleeping.

On restless nights, he tends to piddle about his farm, checking on his chickens, working on his tractors and, as he was in the wee hours of June 3, fixing up his Chevy Malibu.

About 2 a.m., he heard a distant rustling on his 17-acre spread, which is off Yates Mill Pond Road in an unincorporated sliver of Wake County between Cary and Raleigh.

As he turned to investigate, he was dealt a heavy blow. "I heard this strange huffing," Oliver said. "And the next thing I know I had been run over and stepped on by a bear."

The black bear's claws gouged his wrist so deep that when he first took off his bandage, blood spewed onto his farmhouse floor. "Like a hose," he said.

"That was when my daughter said, 'Dad we need to take you to the emergency room.' "

The biggest cut was so deep and wide that doctors at WakeMed couldn't sew it up. So doctors bandaged up Oliver and told him to keep pressure on the lacerations.

Nature 2, Oliver 0.

"He's a little unlucky," said Cameron Rhodes of Cary, who was married by Oliver at Piney Plain United Church of Christ in Cary, where Oliver is a minister. "But he's even more lucky he has survived both of them."

From: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/06/22/96345/youve-got-problems-man-struck.html

Chinese Man Freed After ‘Murder Victim’ Turns Up Alive 10 Years Later

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

AOL News, USA - (May 10) — A Chinese farmer knew he’d had nothing to do with the murder of his neighbor, but he confessed, relatives say, after being tortured by police for up to a month.

Now, after almost 10 years in jail, Zhao Zuohai is a free man again — because the villager he was convicted of killing turned up alive and looking for welfare support.

A court in the central province of Henan province has overturned the conviction, the China Daily newspaper reported today. Zhao Zuohai stands to collect $45,000 in compensation, paid at a rate of $16 for each day he spent in prison.

Zhao Zuohai fell out with his neighbor, Zhao Zhenshang, in 1997, over borrowed money. The two men, who are not related, got into a violent fight. Reports say that Zhao Zhenshang fled after the fight, fearing he had killed his neighbor.

A nephew finally reported Zhao Zhenshang missing. Then, after a headless body was found in the village in 1999, Zhao Zuohai was arrested.

He was convicted of the missing man’s murder in 2002 and sentenced to death, a verdict that was later commuted to 29 years’ prison. After the conviction Zhao Zuohai’s wife left him, remarried, and gave up two of their four children for adoption.

Zhao Zuohai’s sister reportedly told the China Daily that her brother showed her a scar where the police had hit him on the head with a gun. His ex-wife said he had been tortured for about a month after the headless body was found.

His brother said the police had forced him to drink chili-tainted water and exploded fireworks over his head to get him to confess, the BBC reported.

Zhao Zhenshang, who is suffering from paralysis brought on by a nerve disease, returned to the village on April 30. He said he had not been aware that his former neighbor had been jailed. But he showed no remorse when he learned of his plight.

“He had such a bad temper,” he was reportedly quoted as saying by the Beijing News. “He needed a lesson somewhere, somehow.”

An investigation has been ordered into the conviction. According to various accounts, the use of torture to obtain confessions in criminal cases is widespread in China, but Beijing has reportedly taken steps to end inmate abuse and crack down on any police officers involved.

A similar case to that of Zhao Zuohai’s occurred in China 2005, when a man served 11 years for the murder of his wife before she showed up alive. The accused husband said he had been tortured into making a confession. He was given $67,000 in compensation.

From: http://www.post-trib.com/news/blogentries/index.html?bbPostId=Cz9oO9vL5oQ4tB8le6tI1suagBE4YvhnZEb2cB3mexDAYVRbf&bbParentWidgetId=B8j4te2LpaP5zF2wdOIaNTqV

Twelve killed crossing railway track

Last updated 14:43 24/06/2010

Twelve people have died after a high-speed train slammed into them as they tried to cross a railway track near Barcelona in Spain.

Seventeen people were injured in the accident on Wednesday evening as the group of mostly young people were on their way to celebrate the annual Saint John's Day summer festival.

Three of the injured were in critical condition, Spanish radio station SER said.

Dozens of people had been attempting to cross the track at an unauthorised point instead of using an underpass on the line between Barcelona and Alicante, TVE state television said.

One youth who managed to cross the track told SER radio that a group of them had got off a train, which then left the station.

"At that moment a train came from the other direction and ran everyone over," said the youth, who gave his name only as Fernando.

Emergency services found dismembered bodies scattered at the scene of the accident at Castelldefels Playa station.

The group of youths had been crossing the track to head for the beach for traditional celebrations around bonfires, local radio said.

Hundreds of mostly young people were marking the festival on the beach at the northeastern Spanish town.

St John's Day, June 24, is a public holiday in many parts of Spain and bonfire celebrations traditionally begin the night before.

The accident was Spain's worst rail tragedy since 19 people died in 2003, when two trains collided near the central Spanish town of Chinchilla.

From: http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/europe/3850088/Twelve-killed-crossing-railway-track