Pictured: The woman who had to go under the knife - after swallowing an entire canteen of cutlery

By Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 11:30 PM on 28th October 2009

Margaret Daalman came to hospital complaining of stomach ache - and one glance at her X-ray shows why.
Surgeons in Rotterdam in the Netherlands were flabbergasted when X-rays showed 78 different items of cutlery in the 52-year-old woman's stomach.
They rushed her to surgery in a desperate attempt to remove the dozens of forks and spoons trapped inside her body one by one.


Astonishing X-ray: It looks a bit like a squid, but this image actually shows the 78 spoons and forks swallowed by a Dutch woman, collected into a lump inside her body


Removed - and cleaned - the 78 forks and spoons that surgeons found inside the woman's body

'She seems to have been suffering from some sort of obsession and every time she sat down for a meal she would ignore the food and eat the cutlery,' said one medic.
The astonishing images were actually taken over 30 years ago - but they were published for the first time this week in a Dutch medical magazine.
The magazine had asked for readers to send in examples of strange medical tales.
A doctor at a hospital in Sittard in the Netherlands sent in the tale of Ms Daalman.

When she went in for her surgery, Ms Daalman, a secretary in a local estate agents, told doctors: 'I don't know why but I felt an urge to eat the silverware - I could not help myself.'
Medics also revealed it was not the first time that she had been treated for eating the cutlery.
They said she had been diagnosed as suffering from a borderline personality disorder that left her with an urge to eat forks and spoons.

She never ate knives, however - and could not explain why not.
Ms Daalman made a full recovery and is said to be responding well to therapy she was receiving for the disorder.

The ingestion of foreign objects is a little-discussed type of disorder, according to an article in Pyschiatry Online.
Sometimes referred to as pica, individuals may crave and ingest non-food substances or an unusual quantity or selection of food commodities.

The phenomenon, considered a form of self-harm, is difficult for physicians to diagnose as - unlike with self-harming patients who burn or mutilate themselves - the damage is not always obvious.

It is also nearly impossible to prevent access to all potentially ingestible objects, the article added, making the behaviour difficult to stop without psychiatric treatment.

Doctors in Rotterdam said they had never heard of someone consuming quite so many foreign objects before.

Mark of shame for Texta-mask burglars

10:00 AEST Thu Oct 29 20091 day 1 hour 57 minutes agoBy ninemsn staff

Two accused burglars in the US who covered their faces with permanent marker as a disguise were arrested soon after an apartment robbery with their faces still blackened.

Matthew McNelly, 23, and Joey Miller, 20, allegedly tried to break into an apartment in Carroll, Iowa on Friday night before driving off.

After a caller described the burglars as having "painted faces", police pulled over their car a few blocks away to see their faces still covered with permanent marker.

The two were charged with second degree burglary, while McNelly was also charged with drink driving, according to the Daily Times Herald.

The two were released on bond.

Attorneys for the two men declined to comment to the media.

Here's a comment: Dumbasses...

J.A.C.

Singer killed by coyotes

Last updated 11:32 29/10/2009

Two coyotes attacked and killed a young Canadian woman while she was hiking alone in a national park in eastern Canada.

The victim was identified as Taylor Mitchell, 19, a promising singer-songwriter from Toronto who was touring her new album on the east coast.

She was hiking solo on a trail in Cape Breton Highlands National Park in Nova Scotia when the attack occurred. She was airlifted to a Halifax hospital in a critical condition and died the following morning, authorities said.

Coyotes, which also are known as prairie wolves, are found from Central America to the United States and Canada.

Wildlife biologist Bob Bancroft said coyote attacks are extremely rare because the animals are usually shy.

Bancroft, a retired biologist with Nova Scotia's Department of Natural Resources, said it's possible the coyotes thought Mitchell was a deer or other prey.

"It's very unusual and is not likely to repeated," Bancroft said. "We shouldn't assume that coyotes are suddenly going to become the big bad wolf."

Royal Canadian Mounted Police spokeswoman Brigdit Leger said other hikers heard Mitchell's screams for help on Tuesday and called emergency police dispatchers.

Police who were in the area reached the scene quickly and shot one of the animals, apparently wounding it. But the wounded animal and a companion coyote managed to get away.

Paul Maynard of Emergency Health Services said Mitchell was already in a critical condition when paramedics arrived on the scene and had multiple bite wounds over her entire body.

"She was losing a considerable amount of blood from the wounds," he said.

An official with Parks Canada said they blocked the entrance to the trail where Mitchell was attacked and were trying to find the animals to determine what prompted such an unusual attack.

"There's been some reports of aggressive animals, so it's not unknown," said Helene Robichaud, the park's superintendent. "But we certainly never have had anything so dramatic and tragic."

Mitchell was an up-and-coming folk and country musician who was nominated for a 2009 Canadian Folk Music Award in the Young Performer of the Year category.

"Words can't begin to express the sadness and tragedy of losing such a sweet, compassionate, vibrant, and phenomenally talented young woman," Lisa Weitz, Mitchell's manager, said in an email.

"She just turned 19 two months ago, and was so excited about the future."

Police say Merced man tortured girlfriend, held hostage since late summer

By CORINNE REILLY

Unimaginable.

That's how one police officer described the sexual and physical ordeal of a woman held hostage for months, allegedly by her boyfriend.

Merced police rescued the woman Tuesday from a North Merced apartment that they called a "house of horrors" where her boyfriend raped and tortured her for months.

The police department said 37-year-old Daniel Ruben Gonzalez will be charged with aggravated assault, rape, torture, sodomy and false imprisonment. The charges were contained in a news release issued late Tuesday.

Investigators believe Gonzalez had been holding his live-in girlfriend inside their apartment in the 3200 block of Denver Avenue since at least mid-August.

"We unfortunately see a lot of domestic violence cases, but we haven't seen anything this violent for quite a while," police Lt. Matt Williams said. "It's unimaginable what this woman went through."

Police said they discovered the abuse after a woman showed up at the department's central station Tuesday around 5 p.m. and told officer Lance O'Brien that her ex-boyfriend had just let her go after hours of abuse inside his apartment. She told O'Brien that the man's current girlfriend was still at the apartment and in danger, police said.

O'Brien immediately left for the scene. Gonzalez answered the door and denied that he'd abused anyone. Police said that as Gonzalez and the officer spoke, Gonzalez's girlfriend -- her face bloodied and bruised -- appeared behind him and mouthed the words, "Help me."

O'Brien tried to arrest Gonzalez, but he resisted, police said. The two men fought until backup arrived and officers were able to handcuff Gonzalez, Williams said.

Authorities said interviews with both victims, who officials declined to identify by name, revealed what police described in a press release as a "house of horrors."

Investigators believe Gonzalez refused for months to let his girlfriend leave their apartment. They say he subjected her to beatings, rapes, sodomy, burnings and stabbings. Police said she told them that Gonzalez tried to cut off her fingers and that he once stabbed her and left her to bleed until she lost consciousness.

"She told (O'Brien) that he literally saved her life," the press release said.

Authorities believe Gonzalez's ex-girlfriend -- the one who reported the abuse to police -- had been held for less than a day before Gonzalez let her go. She told police she went to his apartment willingly, but that he blocked her from leaving. He then beat her and forced her to fight with his current girlfriend.

Williams said investigators believe Gonzalez and his current girlfriend had been together for about three years and that they have no children together. He couldn't say whether she reported any earlier incidents of abuse or whether Gonzalez has a criminal record.

Investigators also couldn't say whether Gonzalez has a job or whether he ever left his victim alone. "We do know that he wasn't allowing her to leave the house," Williams said. "I'm sure there was a lot of intimidation involved."

Williams said the victim received medical treatment after her rescue and that officers referred her for counseling and domestic violence support services.

Gonzalez remained in Merced County Jail on Wednesday in lieu of bail.

Of Coconut Futures and Thermonuclear Fusion Power

Written By: Surfdaddy Orca
Date Published: October 27, 2009

There may soon be a run on coconut futures. Vintage 2002 Indonesian coconut-shell charcoal is being used to help build what may become the first commercially viable Tokamak fusion power electrical generating facility near Cadarache in the south of France – about 38 miles from the Mediterranean.

Tokamak (from the Russian for “toroidal chamber with magnetic coils”) is a type of magnetic confinement device for producing controlled thermonuclear fusion power. The coconut charcoal is an environmental sponge that “adsorbs” the helium and hydrogen byproducts of the thermonuclear fusion reaction.

In what sounds like it could be the beginnings of a Star Trek-like Federation, the United States has joined the European Union, Japan, the Russian Federation, China, Korea, and India in negotiations for the establishment of the burning plasma prototype facility called ITER, which in Latin means "the way."

The fusion power produced by ITER will be at least 10 times greater than the external power delivered to heat the plasma. It’s not quite a Starship warp drive, but it does harness the power of the sun.

ITER is expected to cost more than $10 billion. Skeptics point out that ever since the idea of fusion power was first touted in the 1950s, fusion's promise of clean power has receded endlessly into the future. Here’s a short video on the promise of ITER:



The Tokamak building is the core of ITER, where fusion experiments are planned to start in 2018. The reinforced concrete structure will sit with 5 1/2 stories underground and nineteen stories above. Adjacent to the main building, an assembly hall will be the location for pre-assembly of Tokamak components.

In ITER, the fusion reaction is achieved in Tokamak using magnetic fields to contain and control hot plasma. The fuel –- a mixture of deuterium and tritium, both isotopes of hydrogen –- is heated to temperatures in excess of 150 million°C, forming helium and neutrons in addition to the hot plasma. A helium nucleus carries an electric charge that responds to the magnetic fields of the Tokamak, and remains confined within the plasma. Approximately 80% of the energy produced is carried away from the plasma by neutrons -- a neutron has no electrical charge and is unaffected by magnetic fields. The neutrons are absorbed by the surrounding walls of the Tokamak, transferring their energy to the walls as heat.


This is where the coconuts come into the picture. The coconuts will be used to generate a cooling vacuum essential to ITER's operation. In the central chamber, some of this vacuum separates the plasma from the surrounding solid walls and allows fusion to proceed unhindered by air molecules. The vacuum pumps suck air out of ITER and “adsorb” waste helium from the fusion reaction, along with other debris created when hot plasma smashes into the reactor wall.

"This can only be done with very large cryogenic pumps," says Christian Day of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany. The cryogenic pumps capture loose helium and hydrogen through a process that involves atoms of the gases sticking loosely to a solid surface -- the greater the surface area, the better. "We wanted a material that behaves like a sponge, with lots of internal surfaces," Day adds. After 20 years searching for the ideal adsorber –- including sintered metals and porous minerals called zeolites –- Day’s team decided on charcoal. And not just any charcoal. "We found that coconut-shell charcoal is the best," Day says. "It is somehow strange that you need this very natural material to make a fusion device."

Thermonuclear fusion and coconuts – strange bedfellows. But is fusion energy really "the way?" as the name ITER suggests? Why bother to build a fusion reactor when there is an almost inexhaustible supply of energy from the sun? Why not spend the $10 billion (or probably more) on wind or solar power instead?

A New Scientist editorial makes the case: "Compared with the more exotic schemes for large-scale manipulation of the environment now coming under serious consideration –- which do look 50 years away –- fusion power is a racing certainty. It's safer too. A technology that messes with our planet's climate is what got us into trouble in the first place." Ecologist James Lovelock –- concerned that humanity will shortly be facing a series of catastrophes from global warming –- might agree with this assessment. “By all means, let us use the small input from renewables sensibly, but only one immediately available source does not cause global warming and that is nuclear energy,” says Lovelock.

Lovelock – famous for the “Gaia hypothesis” – refers to conventional nuclear fission power generation (with all its attendant radioactive waste byproducts), but he is essentially making the case that humanity can’t afford to wait for “more exotic” technologies like solar and wind (and possibly fusion) to come online because he feels that a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions needs more immediate action.


Fusion is the energy source of the Universe, occuring in the core of the Sun and stars. Photo credit: iter.org

This isn’t to say that both sun-based solar and man-made fusion can’t coexist to help meet the world’s energy needs. According to ITER, fusion power stations producing 1-2 GW should be feasible within ten years – much the same size as standard fossil fuel power stations. Proposed space-based solar power from Solaren Corporation offers the possibility of scaling up to the same 1-2 GW range by 2020. Nanosolar, another solar start-up company, is building a solar cell production facility projected to generate 430 MW annually.

It’s good to know that there are options -- and it’s ironic that the world’s 21st Century energy future could end up being a race between harnessing power from real and artificial suns. With fossil fuels “messing” with our climate, as both Lovelock and New Scientist suggest, it seems we’d best keep all our cards (and coconuts) on the table.

Executed in broad daylight: The chilling moment a Mafia hitman strikes outside a Naples bar... but no-one saw a thing

By Nick Pisa
Last updated at 8:02 AM on 30th October 2009

This is the chilling moment a Mafia boss is gunned down by a hitman outside a bar.
Mario Bacio Terracino is first felled by a gunshot to the arm.
His attacker then stands over him and finishes him off with a single shot to the back of the head before strolling away.


Chilling: (Clockwise from top left) Mariano Bacio Terracino, 53, is first shot in the arm before falling to the ground and being shot in the head in full public view

Police in Naples, where the local Mafia are known as the Camorra, released the CCTV footage to try to catch the hitman.
They believe the killing of Terracino, 53, was part of a feud with a rival gang over the control of lucrative drug trafficking network.

Terracino was also known to police as a bank robber and was accused of a £1.8 million heist committed in 1991, but was never convicted.


Brazen: The hitman smiles as he walks away calmly after executing his target

His trademark was said to be entering buildings from below through the sewer network.
Police in Naples also revealed that Terracino had also been part of a Camorra gang that had kidnapped Italian Socialist politician Guido De Martino in 1977.
He was snatched of a street in Naples and held for six weeks before being freed after a one billion lire ransom was paid - £430.000.

Tarracino is seen smoking a cigarette outside a bar in the central Sanita neighborhood. The killer enters the bar, where there are at least six people, then emerges and shoots Tarracino at point blank range.
When Tarracino falls on the ground, the killer finishes him off with a bullet to the head.


Witnesses who 'didn't see a thing': A woman stands yards from the attack

None of the bystanders moves a finger, although it is hard to say if that is from genuine indifference or fear of retaliation.
A woman is seen rubbing off her scratch-and-win lottery card as Tarracino is killed in front of her. A cigarette-seller moves his stall a few meters down the road, while a man holding a toddler in his arms looks at the victim and walks away.
A woman counting change in her purse jumps in shock at the sound of the gunshot and turns to see the killer calmly walking away. He was even said to be smiling.


Aftermath: Terracino's body is draped with a blanket as his blood seeps through

Today, police in Naples said: 'We are taking the unusal step of releasing this graphic footage in an attempt to catch his killer.
'His face although hidden is visible and someone out there must recognise him and we would appeal for them to come forward.'
So far this year, there have been more than 30 Camorra murders in Naples, many of which remain unsolved and many of them stem from feuds between rival clans.

In an attempt to control the extent of organised crime in the city the Italian government has flooded the area with troops, but with little effect.
One of the bloodiest hits was last September, when six Africans who tried to muscle into the drugs trade were shot dead outside a shop.
The Camorra is much more violent than the Sicilian Mafia and also has several branches in Britain. In 2006, Naples mobster Raffaele Caldarelli was arrested in Hackney, east London.

Head Shots

Jailed 'Satanist' who murdered cellmate for kicks has 'life meaning life' sentence cut despite saying he would kill again

Psychopathic: Double murderer Clement McNally described killing his prison cellmate as 'better than sex'

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 4:02 PM on 26th October 2009

A psychopathic 'Satanist' jailed for life without parole after he strangled his cellmate while serving a prison term for another murder, has had his sentence cut to 20 years.

Clement McNally throttled father-of-one Anthony Hesketh with a T-shirt in September 2003 because he was Satan's 'hands and eyes'.
Hesketh, who was serving four months for driving while disqualified, was found dead on the floor of the cell he shared with McNally in Manchester's Strangeways prison.

McNally, 34, of Ashton under Lyne, Lancashire, claimed to worship the devil and decorated his cell with satanic symbols.

He was also diagnosed as 'psychopathic, narcissistic, paranoid and obsessive-compulsive'.
The killer was already serving a mandatory life term for stabbing a friend to death outside a party in July, 2002, when Hesketh was allocated to his cell.
McNally told officials the killing was 'better than sex' and admitted he would kill again if he got the opportunity.

He was given a life term, with a whole life tariff, for the second killing after pleading guilty to manslaughter due to diminished responsibility at Manchester Crown Court on July 12, 2004.
But now the minimum term has been slashed to 20 years by Lord Justice Hughes, sitting at London's Criminal Appeal Court.

The judge said it was not right that McNally should never have a chance of release.

McNally, who was prescribed anti-depressants and mood-stabilisers, had told a psychiatrist after being jailed for Mr Skelly's murder that he had worshipped the devil for two years.

Victim: Anthony Hesketh was strangled with a T-shirt in 2003 whilst he shared a cell with McNally in Strangeways prison >

He also claimed prison chiefs allowed him to read books on the occult, some of which came from the prison library.

Nevertheless petty criminal, Mr Hesketh, of Worsley, Greater Manchester, was locked up with him and met his death.

Lord Justice Hughes, sitting with Mr Justice MacKay and Mr Justice Davis, said of Mr Hesketh's killing: 'McNally had no particular grievance against his victim - he simply suffered an urge to kill him.

'He said it was exciting - better than sex. He said Satan told him to do things and it was his job to do as he was told.

'He said he was not in the least bit sorry for what he had done, but had derived a great deal of pleasure from subsequently thinking about it.

'He suffers from compulsive homicidal urges and poses an exceptional risk to other prisoners.

'He made it perfectly clear that he would kill again if the opportunity arose and the urge to kill was of sufficient intensity.'

However the judge said it was wrong not to give McNally the chance of being freed if, at some point in the future, his mental state stabilises to the extent that the authorities no longer consider him a danger to society.

He told the court: 'The life sentence was plainly correct as he was likely to represent a danger of the gravest kind, for a period which could not be determined.

'However the imposition of a whole life tariff was a mistaken application of the process of sentencing.

'The life sentence itself is designed to cater for a prisoner in whom it cannot be seen when, or if ever, they will cease to be a danger to the public.

'The Parole Board will not release a prisoner under a life sentence until it is convinced that they no longer pose a danger to the public.

'The minimum term should be set on the basis of the severity of what the offender has done and his level of culpability for it.

'If this man never ceases to be a danger, he will never be released.

'But what cannot be known is whether his condition will change in the future.

'Accordingly, we set aside the order, declining to set a minimum term, and the question of his dangerousness now and in the future is reserved to the Parole Board.

'His culpability was plainly reduced because he was in the mentally abnormal condition that he was, but the circumstances and gravity of the acts were considerable.

'It was a second homicide within about 15 months. It was a pointless killing, generated simply to satisfy an internal impulse.

'The appropriate course now is to set a minimum term which takes account of both the murder and manslaughter offences. We arrive at a minimum term of 20 years.

'However, the plainest evidence of the absence of a risk would be needed before any consideration could be given to his release.

'It may very well be that there is never sufficient evidence of an absence of danger, but those decisions lie in the future and, to that extent, this appeal is allowed,' the judge concluded.
An inquest into Mr Hesketh's killing heard that McNally turned his back on the Devil 18 months after the murder, but denied fabricating his Satanism.

Trial Postponed For Cult Members In Baby's Death

BALTIMORE (WJZ/AP)

The trial of three religious cult members accused of starving a toddler to death has been postponed until Jan. 27.

A fourth cult member will have his case heard on Friday -- a possible sign that he intends to plead guilty. Prosecutors obtained a new indictment against Marcus Cobbs last week charging him with accessory after the fact.

Alex DeMetrick reports the delay is frustrating and painful for the dead boy's family.

Home video of Javon Thompson and his mother Ria Ramkissoon doesn't hint at the dark future awaiting them, when they became swept up in the religious cult of Queen Antoinettte.

Authorities say cult members starved 1-year-old Javon Thompson because the boy did not say "Amen" after meals.

His body was packed in a suitcase and taken to Philadelphia, where it was abandoned in a storage room.

Those who police say placed it there, were in court Monday.

"It's hard to be in that room. These people killed my grandson, and I have to be in that room and listen to all that stuff," said Seeta Newton, Javon Thompson's grandmother.

What was heard at the Mitchell Courthouse was another postponement. Prosecutors said scheduling prevented the medical examiner from being available.

"I know they got to do what they have to do, but come on. It's too much," said Newton.

When Queen Antoinette does goes on trial, she and co-defendant Trevia Williams say they will represent themselves. Prosecutors are asking to have the case specially assigned to a single judge.

Ria Ramkissoon has already plead guilty to child abuse resulting in death, and will testify against the others. But in her deal with prosecutors, she said she will only do it if her son is not resurrected first.

Newton says pictures of the funeral and grave have since convinced her daughter that is not going to happen.

But there is still worry Ramkissoon could become intimidated once she comes face-to-face on the witness stand with Queen Antoinette.

"That's what I'm scared of. I think once she sees them, she's going to be intimidated, and that worries me a lot," said Newton.

Under the terms of her plea agreement, after Ria Ramkissoon testifies, prosecutors will recommend she receive psychological treatment, rather than prison time.

Family pot profits pays for college

Posted: Oct 23, 2009 8:42 PM
Updated: Oct 23, 2009 9:17 PM

CALIFORNIA: Authorities found several hundred marijuana plants in a Stockton home and several hundred more growing in a nearby office.

It was apparently a family operation involving a father, mother, and two sons.

And now it appears that the profits may have paid for the kids' education.

Behind the blinds, marijuana sprouts under growing lamps in a former real estate office.

Marijuana too, inside a Stockton home.

And all this time, neighbors were unaware that the operation was right under their nose because they didn't smell a thing.


"They're always quiet. They're never out or anything like that," said one neighbor.

Now officers from the mountain and valley marijuana investigation team or "MAVMIT" are pulling out the plants.

And officers escorted two brothers, 26-year-old Richard and David LA out to a waiting patrol car in handcuffs.

Their parents in Saratoga, also under arrest.

Surprisingly the twin brothers are graduates of U.C. Davis majoring in biology and biochemistry.

And this operation allegedly paid for their education.

"They did make a few spontaneous statements by saying that... They've been doing this for several years to pay for their college tuition at U.C. Davis. And some of the mortgage for the parents," said Roy Giorgi of the Marijuana Investigation Team.

The plants were continually harvested.

The going rate was about $3,000 a pound.

Shopkeeper to electrocute drunken revellers who wee

Friday, October 23, 2009

A peeved trader plans to give drunken revellers the shock of their lives if they continue urinating against his shop front.
Businessman John O'Connor said he could no longer put up with his premises being used as an outdoor toilet by a steady stream of late-night partygoers.

The 46-year-old is taking a slash and burn approach to the anti-social behaviour by wiring up an electric current on the pavement outside his music shop in Co Clare, in the Irish Republic.

An angry Mr O'Connor said his shop was not a dumping ground and warned revellers should zip-up or face the shocking consequences.

"If anybody persists and continues with the anti-social behaviour they'll get a shock, they'll know all about it," he said.

The trader, who operates Custy's Traditional Music Shop hidden away on a narrow lane off Ennis main street, said his business has been a popular spot for drunken revellers to relieve themselves.

Frustrated and angered by the flood of vandalism, a friend gave him an electric box with a cable coming from it and five wires.

They spread across the pavement immediately in front of his shop and will give anyone who comes near it an electric jolt.

"The wires are on the ground where I'm greeted every Monday morning with pools of their urine, mounds of their faeces," he said.

"You can see it (wires), it's pretty obvious what's there. There are signs everywhere.

"Last Monday morning the place was destroyed. Urine had seeped into the door jam. I was greeted by a flood of urine inside on the carpet and lino, I had to clean it up for about an hour."

Mr O'Connor has spent around 3000 euro putting in CCTV cameras and other security devices to deter the revellers.

"I just said, look I've been doing this for years. I've tolerated it but you come to a certain stage that when you're greeted with this you just say enough is enough.

"These people have to be confronted. "There has to be consequences as to what you do."

ACLU v. The Gene Patents

Written By: Tyson C. Anderson
Date Published: October 26, 2009

On May 12, 2009, the ACLU and the Public Patent Office submitted a brief to the Southern District Court of New York. The legal action involved twenty plaintiffs, including organizations like the Association for Molecular Pathology along with medical doctors and private individuals. They all had one goal in mind — to invalidate the claim of a Utah-based company over genes that affect the fate of every woman in America.

The company in question, Myriad Genetics, owns the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes associated with hereditary forms of breast and ovarian cancer. They also own the only currently available diagnostic test for these genes, which they sell for a little over three thousand dollars. And they control the right to allow testing and experimentation on these genes. It is no exaggeration to say that Myriad controls every facet of those genes. As a result, many women have been unable to get vital health information, and scientists have been unable to perform important research without paying large sums of money to Myriad.

According to a statement issued by the ACLU, they and the Public Patent office have stepped in to challenge Myriad because “Gene patents undermine the free exchange of information and scientific freedom, bodily integrity and women’s health.” The statement further claims that the granting of gene patents “interferes with a person’s right to know about his or her own genetic makeup.” They’ve set loose a team of legal experts to attack the validity of the patents on BRCA1 and 2. In their brief, they claim that the patents violate the First Amendment and Article 1, Section 8, Clause 8, of the Constitution — the section that provides for the creation of patents. Because the ACLU claims that the patents violate constitutional law it is likely that the case will end up in front of the Supreme Court. If that happens, the decision could have consequences that reach far beyond the individual case.


According to Luigi Palombi, Project Director of the Genetic Sequence Right Project and author of the book Gene Cartels: Biotech Patents in the Age of Free Trade,“If this case makes it to the U.S. Supreme Court... I am confident that the Supreme Court will rule that these patents [gene patents in general]... will be confirmed as non-patentable subject matter.”

He cautions, however, that the case against Myriad may not make it all the way to the Supreme Court. In a similar case prosecuted by Palombi in Australia against Chiron over their patent on hepatitis C genes, Chiron settled out of court once they realized that if they lost it might threaten their chances of getting a patent in America. The case abandoned, the question of the patent’s validity was left unanswered. While it is uncertain whether Myriad will try to settle, Daniel Ravicher, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs, has said that they would be willing to settle if they get everything they want.

Myriad certainly doesn’t look, as yet, like they’re backing down and looking for an out-of-court settlement. The company has thrown its first punch by bringing a motion to dismiss the case on the basis that there is no controversy and that the plaintiffs lack standing. Myriad told h+ that it doesn’t comment on ongoing litigation.

Palombi noted that while the patents themselves may be invalidated, the patent of any invention derived from them will still be valid, so Myriad will still own the patent on the BRACAnalysis® test.

So what would an ACLU victory mean? Advocates believe that researchers will be free to develop and market other tests, bringing competition and driving down costs. It would also mean researchers could spend more money on research, since they would no longer have to pay Myriad. And life-saving treatment may be developed more quickly for thousands of women. Beyond that, it could close the door on more gene patents, if not invalidating all previous patents and opening up legal debate about the limits of patents and intellectual property.

Companies involved in this type of patenting take a different view. They say that a favorable verdict could do more harm than good. Large companies claim that they need gene patents to provide incentive to perform research and make such exploration possible. They also point to several studies conducted on intellectual property that state that so called “patent thickets” do not hinder competition or impede research.

Regardless of the results, the case against Myriad opens the door for some serious legal questions about intellectual property and patentability. It will answer the question of whether or not it is legal to patent a gene. You might say that the Supreme Court could decide just who owns you.

Great White nearly bit in half by an even BIGGER monster: Swimmers stay out of the water after warning over giant 20ft shark

By Richard Shears
Last updated at 11:00 AM on 28th October 2009

A 'monster' great white shark measuring up to 20 ft long is on the prowl off a popular Queensland beach, according to officials.

Swimmers were warned to stay out of the water off Stradbroke Island after the shark mauled another smaller great white which had been hooked on a baited drum line.
The 10-foot great white was almost bitten in half.

The fictional shark at the centre of the Steven Spielberg blockbuster Jaws was estimated to be just five feet longer.


We're going to need a bigger boat: The remains of a 10ft great white shark that was bitten nearly in half by what authorities - judging from the size of the bite marks - estimated was a 20ft monster

'It certainly opened up my eyes. I mean the shark that was caught is a substantial shark in itself,' says Jeff Krause of Queensland Fisheries.

The great white, the most dangerous creature in the sea, was still alive when hauled onto a boat near Deadman's Beach off north Stradbroke island.

News of the shocking attack on the smaller shark has sent jitters along the Queensland coast from Stradbroke Island, near Brisbane, to the Sunshine Coast further north down to the tourist mecca of Surfers Paradise, south of Brisbane.

'Whatever attacked and took chunks out of this big shark must be massive,' said 19-year-old surfer Ashton Smith. 'I've heard about the big one that's lurking out there somewhere.

'We're all being very, very cautious.'

Mr John Gooding, who operates a charter fishing boat, said sharks were everywhere, although there appeared to be no specific reason for an increase in the number.

'Some days you struggle to get a fish on to the boat before the sharks take them,' he told the Courier Mail newspaper.



Many of the popular beaches in Queensland are protected by nets and what are known as drumlines - a series of baited hooks that hang from buoys placed in a line about 500 yards from beaches.

Since the net and drumline programme was introduced in Queensland there has been only one fatal attack on a protected beach.

The relatively recent attack occurred when 21-year-old student Sarah Whiley was killed off Stradbroke Island three years ago.

The Queensland State Government has been under pressure in recent weeks to scale down the shark net and drumline programme because environmentalists say that whales and other big fish are becoming trapped in the nets.

But Fisheries Minister Tim Mulherin said the capture of the badly injured 10ft shark - and the indication of a much larger one being in the area - showed the necessity to keep the nets and drumlines in place.

Darren Kindleysides, director of the Australian Marine Conservation Society, said the nets were working but at huge cost to whales, dolphins and turtles.

And Vic Hislop, an internationally-recognised authority on sharks, also believes the nets should be removed and other methods explored to scare away the predators.

French Branch of Scientology Convicted of Fraud

By STEVEN ERLANGER
Published: October 27, 2009

PARIS — The French branch of the Church of Scientology was convicted of fraud and fined nearly $900,000 on Tuesday by a Paris court. But the judges did not ban the church entirely, as the prosecution had demanded, saying that a change in the law prevented such an action for fraud. The church said it would appeal.

The verdict was among the most important in several years to involve the group, which is regarded by the Internal Revenue Service as a religion in the United States but has no similar legal protection in France. It is considered a sect here, where it says it has some 45,000 adherents, out of what the church claims is some 12 million worldwide. It was the first time here that the church itself had been tried and convicted, as opposed to individual members.

The case was brought by two former members who said they were pushed into paying large sums of money in the 1990s, pressed to sign up for expensive “purification courses” and harassed to buy a variety of vitamins and other forms of pharmaceuticals, plus electronic tests to measure spiritual progress. One woman said she had been pressed into spending more than $30,000.

The major fines were rendered against the Scientology Celebrity Center in Paris and a Scientology bookstore. Six group leaders were convicted of fraud, with four given suspended sentences of 10 months to two years. One of them, the group’s leader in France, Alain Rosenberg, was given a two-year suspended sentence and fined $44,700. Two others were given only fines, of $1,490 and $2,980.

The judges said the individuals had avoided jail in part because of efforts by the church “to change its practices.”

There have been other cases brought against individual Scientologists in France, but this was the first time the organization was charged for its methods of functioning.

“This is a historic decision,” said Olivier Morice, a lawyer for the plaintiffs. “It’s the first time in France that the entity of the Church of Scientology is condemned for fraud as an organized gang.” He said that the tribunal “expressed its will to maintain the structure of Scientology in order to make it easier to control,” adding that “it gave this decision a national and international dimension so that potential victims can be warned of the methods of Scientology.”

Catherine Picard, who runs an association to help victims of sects, called the verdict “subtle enough and intelligent,” saying that it would help control Scientology in France, and expressed the hope that the state would be “more vigilant.” She said that “Scientology can no longer hide behind freedom of conscience.”

A spokeswoman for the church, Agnès Bron, called the verdict “an Inquisition for modern times.”

The Church of Scientology is based in Los Angeles. It was founded in 1954 by the writer L. Ron Hubbard. Belgium, Germany and other European countries have been formally criticized by the State Department for labeling Scientology a cult or sect and enacting laws to restrict its operations. After a 25-year battle, the Internal Revenue Service reversed itself in 1993 and agreed to grant the group tax-exempt status as a church.

In June, The St. Petersburg Times in Florida reported as part of a major investigation that the longtime head of Scientology, David Miscavige, ruled the church through a “culture of intimidation and violence,” including physical assaults on his aides. Last week, the ABC News program “Nightline” broadcast a two-part series reviving those allegations and interviewing former church executives who said they had quit after being beaten by Mr. Miscavige. Scientology has denied that Mr. Miscavige attacked any of his staff members.

Five correctional officers charged in dog fondling

BY WESLEY P. HESTER Media General News Service
Published: October 27, 2009

Five Virginia Department of Corrections officers have been charged with animal cruelty involving the fondling of a K-9 dog and videotaping the two incidents.

All five officers were training at the Academy for Staff Development in Goochland County to become K-9 handlers. They were charged across the James River in Powhatan County where the kennel is located, at the Powhatan Correctional Center.

Facing misdemeanor animal-cruelty charges are Kelvin Thompson, 25, who works at Green Rock Correctional Center in Chatham; Melvin Boone, 40, who worked at the state prison in Sussex County; Adam R. Webb, 27, and Cheri Campbell, 35, who work at Nottoway Correctional Center; and Anthony Eldridge, 33, a sergeant who worked at Nottoway.

Powhatan Commonwealth’s Attorney Robert B. Beasley Jr. said Thompson “allegedly had some sexual contact with the animal.“ The male dog, a German shepherd or shepherd mix, was not harmed, he said.

“Essentially, he was touching the dog’s penis with his hand,“ Beasley said. “The others were there filming it. That’s actually how we learned of it — there’s a video.“

A corrections employee saw the video and reported it to a superior, Beasley said.

The events occurred between June 16 and Aug. 1, according to arrest warrants. All five officers were charged Oct. 2 by summons.

Terry N. Grimes, a Roanoke attorney representing Thompson, said his client planned to plead not guilty but admitted to fondling the animal.

“I would characterize it as hazing,“ he said, claiming that Thompson was told by the others, “If you masturbate your K-9 unit, you’ll have greater control over it.“

The Department of Corrections confirmed that Eldridge and Boone no longer are employed by the state, but Thompson, Webb and Campbell are.

The Department of Corrections acknowledged that the matter had been investigated internally but declined to say whether Eldridge and Boone were terminated or left voluntarily. The department also would not say whether the others were on leave.

Grimes suggested Beasley would have a difficult time proving animal cruelty.

“The statute is not set up to deal with this type of thing. I don’t think the legislature quite had this in mind,“ he said.
Beasley said the misdemeanor charge for each defendant was the same, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

“They were all kind of there assisting in one way or the other,“ he said.

In Virginia, bestiality is covered by crimes against nature, which could have resulted in a felony charge, according to state statutes. But a felony charge requires “carnal knowledge” of a “brute beast,“ implying intercourse, said Beasley, who added that he consulted with the state veterinarian’s office before filing the charges.

Trial is set for Nov. 20 for all except Webb, who will be tried Dec. 11.

Asked if he knew why the officers videotaped the incidents, Beasley replied: “I don’t have the slightest idea — I really don’t.“

No One Called Cops During Gang Rape, But Some Took Pictures

By SARAH NETTER
Oct. 27, 2009

An official with the school district where a 15-year-old girl was brutally gang raped outside the homecoming dance said they were praying for her recovery but also defended school security, saying that when the students leave the dance, "we don't take them home."

Police in Richmond, Calif., believe that as many as 20 people may have either watched or participated in a vicious rape of the Richmond High School teenager that lasted for more than two hours in a dimly lit corner of the sprawling campus.

Rather than call for help, some of the students took pictures, police told ABC's KGO-TV in San Francisco. KGO reported today that police have arrested two suspected rapists but believe that between four and seven people could have participated while as many as a dozen stood and watched.

West Contra Costa Unified School District spokesman Marin Trujillo told ABCNews.com that there were four police officers, five chaperones and a host of teachers to supervise the dance, and that when the event was over a sweep was made of the campus to make sure everyone had gone home.

Body parts found in barrel in Melbourne

19:56 AEST Tue Oct 27 2009

A barrel containing human body parts believed to be that of a woman has been pulled from a creek bed in Melbourne's north.

Police on Tuesday would not confirm the sex of the body until a pathologist's examination but said indications were that it was a woman.

Detective Sergeant Peter Trachias told reporters there was no indication of the identity or age of the victim.

As he spoke, search and rescue police and SES volunteers waded through the Jack Roper Reserve Creek at Campbellfield looking for evidence in an area that was cordoned off as a crime scene.

"Hopefully in the next couple of days we'll have a few more leads," Det Sgt Trachias said.

"We are yet to establish the identity or the cause of death."

The black plastic barrel was among debris pulled out of the creek in a clean-up last Saturday and had been taken to a factory at nearby Merola Way.

Workers at the factory opened the barrel on Tuesday after noticing a foul smell coming from it.

"When the workers opened the barrel, they were shocked when they discovered the body," Det Sgt Trachias said.

He appealed for anybody who may have been in the park in recent days and may have seen something suspicious or who had seen the barrel in the creek to contact police.

They will investigate whether the remains belong to murdered Melbourne child care worker Raechel Betts or missing Bendigo woman Krystal Fraser.

Meet the wiliest of all coyotes: Hit by a car at 75mph, embedded in the fender, and dragged for 600 miles - but Tricky SURVIVED

By Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 4:30 PM on 26th October 2009

When a brother and sister struck a coyote at 75mph they assumed they had killed the animal and drove on.
They didn't realise this was the toughest creature ever to survive a hit-and-run.

Eight hours, two fuel stops, and 600 miles later they found the wild animal embedded in their front fender - and very much alive.


Wily coyote: The animal's head can be seen as rescuers took apart the front fender to save it after it was struck by the car at 75mph


'We knew it was bad': Tevyn East, who was in the car when it hit the coyote, bends down to take a look at the fur poking through the fender

And - as if to prove the point - the wily coyote later escaped from where it was being kept to recover.
Daniel and Tevyn East were driving at night along Interstate 80 near the Nevada-Utah border when they noticed a pack of coyotes near the roadside on October 12.
When one of the animals ran in front of the car, the impact sounded fatal so the siblings thought there no point in stopping.
'Right off the bat, we knew it was bad,' Daniel explained. 'We thought the story was over.'
After the incident around 1am, they continued their 600 mile drive to North San Juan - even stopping for fuel at least twice.


Fur Pete's sake: What Mr East spotted as he bent down to inspect the damage to his car - the body of the coyote poking out through the radiator


Miracle escape: As the animal struggled, wildlife protection officials put a loop around its neck to prevent it from further injuring itself

But it was only when they finally reached their destination at 9am did they take time to examine what damage they may have sustained.
At first it looked as though it was going to be quite gruesome.

'[Daniel] saw fur and the body inside the grill,' Tevyn East said. 'I was trying to keep some distance. Our assumption was it was part of the coyote - it didn't register it was the whole animal.'
Daniel East got a broom to try and pry the remains out of the bumper and got the shock of his life.
'It flinched,' Tevyn East said. 'It was a huge surprise - he got a little freaked out.'


The front of the car is completely taken apart as the coyote begins to wriggle free


And voila! Tricky the toughest coyote ever rests in a cage after its ordeal - which it survived with just some scrapes to its paw

The pair immediately phone Wildlife Rehabilitation and Release.

'We could see a little bit of blood, not a lot, and we couldn't see any wounds,' Tevyn East said. 'We didn't know if it was suffering and we should put it out of its misery, or if we could rescue it. But we realized we were going to have to take the front end of the car off to get to it.'
The coyote had been thoroughly embedded between the front fender and radiator of their Honda Fit car - and had amazingly survived the journey without any broken bones or internal injuries.
'It just had some scrapes on its paw,' Daniel East said.

The coyote - which was nicknamed Tricky - became active while trying to escape the car space so, fearing severe internal injuries, wildlife rescue worker Jan Crowell managed to snare a loop around its neck.
Jan took the coyote to a kennel in her yard while figuring out where to release it.
But three days later the coyote saw its chance - and escaped by wriggling beneath the bottom bar of the cage.

'Now it's a local coyote,' Tevyn East said.

'This coyote is amazing. If you look at the front of our car, the grill broke and acted like a net to soften the impact. It's pretty insane ... somehow the conditions were just right for it to survive the trip. We're trying to tell the story to people, to family and friends back home, but people can't wrap their minds around it.'
'We named it Tricky for a reason,' Daniel East said.

Puppies Doused With Acid, Left For Dead

Animal Control Seeking To Find Abusers

POSTED: 6:18 pm PDT October 26, 2009
UPDATED: 3:50 pm PDT October 27, 2009

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- Two pit bull puppies were doused with acid and left for dead. But thanks to a rescuer, the puppies will live to see another day.

The two tortured puppies had their ears chopped off and had acid poured over their bodies.

The pit bulls, Smokey and Charlie, were found in east Bakersfield in July and October. Dog rescuers said the dogs had their ears cut off with box cutters or scissors and their backs doused with acid. The puppies were then left for dead in east Bakersfield in the areas of Niles and Fairfax and Monica and Pioneer Drive.

Their rescuers were able to come up from San Diego to post fliers asking for leads in the animal abuse case. They believe the abuser intended to use the pit bulls for dogfighting.

Paula Penn, an animal rescuer said, "There's a possibility these dogs were too sweet to fight so they burned them to try and make them mean, and they found them useless so they dumped them."

The dogs are now in foster care and undergoing multiple surgeries to repair muscle, skin and nerve damage.

If you have any information on this abuse case, please call animal control at 868-7100.

There is a $5,000 reward. Also, Charlie and Smokey need help paying for their medical bills.

If you'd like to donate, the medical center is located at 600 Broadway Ave. El Cajon, CA 92021 or you can call the El Cajon Animal Medical Center at 619-444-4246.

Teenager killed widow with axe in drink-fuelled rage after losing a computer game to his brother

By Chris Brooke
Last updated at 7:37 AM on 27th October 2009

A schizophrenic teenager killed a grandmother with an axe when he went on a drunken rampage after losing at computer games.

After drinking a bottle of vodka, James Callaghan, 17, stormed out of his home in a rage armed with an axe and a long-bladed knife.

He threatened to attack two girls, struck a passer-by on the head with the axe, terrified a cyclist and tried to smash his way into a couple's flat.

By the time police arrived he had forced his way into Irene Roberton's home and killed the 65-year-old widow, Hull Crown Court heard yesterday.

In a scene of unimaginable horror, Callaghan, who did not know his victim, struck her six times on the head with the axe, chopped off a finger and repeatedly stabbed her in the back, stomach and leg.

Guy Kearl, QC, prosecuting, told the court: 'On the flat walls and on a mirror Callaghan had written a message to his mother in lipstick saying that he was sorry and hadn't intended to kill an old woman.'

Callaghan, now 18, admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and unlawful wounding. He was sent indefinitely to a high security mental hospital.

After his arrest Callaghan was diagnosed as being a paranoid schizophrenic. He told psychiatrists that for several months he had been hearing voices in his head urging him to kill and had seen a man 'with horns on his head'. He said he began drinking heavily to cope with these visions.


Victim: Widow Irene Roberton was bludgeoned six times with the axe

In the hours before the rampage, Callaghan lost three consecutive games of Fifa 2008, playing at home against his younger brother and a friend.

He also played the computer game Grand Theft Auto, which sends the player's character on a violent crime spree. Callaghan, a jobless shop fitter, had no previous convictions and at the time of the killing was not receiving treatment for his mental health problems.

He was known by his friends to be violent after drinking alcohol. As a six-year-old he had threatened his mother with a kitchen knife.

While a young child Callaghan had been referred to the community psychiatric nurse on three occasions as his mother struggled to control his behaviour, the court heard.

Mr Kearl said that in the early hours of December 28 last year Callaghan 'went on a rampage of escalating violence' after ' consuming most of a bottle of vodka'.

The attacks all happened within a mile of his home in Hull. First, he confronted Rebecca Johnson, 20, and Danni Burham, 17, as they sat on a bench eating a takeaway.


Chilling: Callaghan scrawled a message on a mirror in lipstick apologising for killing Ms Roberton

Callaghan smashed the axe into the bench between them and pulled out his knife. He told them: 'I'll stab you and chop off her head off.'

The terrified girls ran off and Callaghan then confronted Darren Morrow, 18, who ran but tripped and fell. Callaghan straddled him and swung the axe at his head.

'It hit him on the left side of the head just in front of his ear, stunning him and knocking him back to the ground,' said Mr Kearl. Mr Morrow managed to grab the axe, get to his feet and escape.

Next Callaghan threatened cyclist Jamie Netherton by waving the axe above his head. Mr Netherton fled and Callaghan attacked Mrs Roberton, leaving her dying on the bedroom floor.

He then tried to attack Mushin Thejeel and his wife Sana Kadum, who lived next to Mrs Robertson.

He smashed a hole in their front door with his axe, demanded alcohol and threatened to kill Mr Thejeel. Police were called and when they arrived Callaghan dropped his axe and admitted killing a woman.

Eric Elliott, QC, defending, said: 'This case is sad beyond words. The pain the Roberton family feel is unimaginable. These events are hardly credible were it not for the fact that he was suffering from a severe mental illness.'

$1m hunt for vampire killer

Liam Houlihan From: Sunday Herald Sun October 25, 2009 12:00AM

POLICE are launching a national manhunt - with a $1 million reward - for a man they believe ordered the murder of self-proclaimed "Vampire Gigolo" Shane Chartres-Abbott.
Authorities are expected to issue the bounty today for help in finding Mark Adrian Perry, who they believe is behind the shooting in June 2003.

An arrest warrant is also understood to have been issued for Mr Perry - the former boyfriend of a woman Chartres-Abbott allegedly raped and assaulted.

Detectives believe Mr Perry ordered the execution of the self-proclaimed vampire male prostitute who was gunned down in Reservoir in daylight.

The Sunday Herald Sun can also reveal the cunning fugitive knows he is a wanted man, is a master of disguise and has escaped police attempts to question him.

The former butcher and bouncer has been on the run across Australia for two years. The Victorian has been seen in Queensland, where he has lived. He has also resided in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Thailand.

"Perry is elusive and skilled at avoiding police," a police source said. "He is likely to be living under an assumed name and may have changed his appearance.

"Perry is extremely adept at staying below the radar. He's well connected and has the ability to travel in and out of Australia illegally.

"He is well aware that we want to talk to him about this murder."

Mr Perry had broken up with the Thai victim of Chartres-Abbott and had started a relationship with another Thai woman - who he had a child with - when his ex-girlfriend was allegedly attacked.

"No doubt Perry was very emotionally affected by the rape. He felt personally responsible, having ended his relationship with her shortly before it happened," a police source said.

"His thinking was, 'If she had still been with me, then this never would have happened'."

Mr Perry's ex-girlfriend was, like Chartres-Abbott, a sex industry worker and the gigolo's occasional lover. The woman had met Chartres-Abbott for sex at the South Yarra's Saville Hotel in August 2002, but instead became the victim of a vicious assault and rape.

She had bite marks on her thigh, black eyes, a bruised neck and jaw and up to 5cm of her tongue removed, believed bitten off.

She was found by staff naked, bloodied and unconscious in the hotel room's shower.

The woman told police Chartres-Abbott had claimed to be a 200-year-old vampire who had been in Melbourne before the city was built and drank blood to live.

DURING his trial, his defence lawyer claimed she was attacked by someone else after Chartres-Abbott fled because she warned him he was going to be killed in a snuff movie. But her phone was found in Chartres-Abbott's bag and her blood on his clothes.

Furious about her treatment, Mr Perry, is believed to have delved into the underworld to recruit for his revenge. Police believe Mr Perry reached out to a crim he knew who contacted a veteran Victorian killer who allegedly carried out the hit with a fellow assassin.

The 28-year-old $105-an-hour gigolo was gunned down by the gangland pair and left dead in the street on June 4, 2003, the day he was due to appear in court on his rape and assault case. One of the pair attacked Chartres-Abbott's pregnant girlfriend and her father as a distraction while the other shot their target in the neck.

The veteran killer ultimately informed on his partner, told of police involvement in the killing and led authorities to the murder weapon hidden at a Geelong beach.

Sources said the missing Mr Perry might have changed his looks, be using a fake name and could have false travel documents.

He is believed to have dropped contact with his daughter and five siblings since going on the run.

The bizarre vampire murder allegedly involved former and serving Victoria Police officers.

The gangland killers were also responsible for the executions of Lewis Moran and Lewis Caine.

Corruption probe Operation Briars has investigated claims the veteran killer spoke to an ex-cop associate David "Docket" Waters for a better address for his target. Authorities are also investigating whether Mr Docket, in turn, contacted a friend in the force, Det-Sgt Peter "Stash" Lalor.

The veteran killer claimed Det-Sgt Lalor also helped him fake an alibi for the vampire killing.

The veteran killer gave himself up over outstanding driving offence arrest warrants to Det-Sgt Lalor at Prahran police station later on the day of the killing - in a alleged ruse meant to deflect suspicion. Further investigations into police corruption surrounding Chartres-Abbott's death have led to big upheavals in the force.

Paul Mullett, then the police union secretary, was accused of tipping off Det-Sgt Lalor that his phone was bugged. It was claimed the then Sgt Mullett phoned union secretary Insp Brian Rix, telling him to warn Lalor to be careful about what he said to people.

Insp Rix and Det-Sgt Lalor met outside the Police Association and Lalor later allegedly warned his ex-cop mate Waters to keep his head down.

But a charge against Sgt Mullett of attempting to pervert the course of justice was not pursued. And two charges of perjury, arising from evidence he gave to the Office of Police Integrity hearings, were dropped.

Former Assistant Commissioner Noel Ashby still faces a perjury trial for allegedly lying to the OPI.

The OPI claims Mr Ashby leaked to Sgt Mullett that Det-Sgt Lalor was a target in the murder investigation.

Police are expected to announce the $1 million reward - the fourth of its size in the state - today.

Mr Perry, from Reservoir, could be anywhere in Australia or overseas. He was seen in Queensland at a Broadbeach cafe with another person of interest to the investigation in August 2007, days before he fled.

"We'd been tracking him for some time. Since September 2007 he has gone to ground," a police source said. "But someone out there will know where he is and how we can track him down."

Police: Cayuga Heights slaying defendant ranted about God

By Raymond Drumsta

ITHACA -- Clad in a white T-shirt, blue gym shorts and bloody socks, Ian Butler was holding a large wooden cross and rambling about God the morning his mother Carol Butler was beaten to death, according to court papers.

"God made me do it," Ian muttered, according to police and deputies who responded to Carol Butler's Cayuga Heights home in the early morning hours of Sept. 23. "I have to get the evil out of the house."

They found Carol's body nearby, and Ian later told state police that he saw his friends who were dancers in the house, that they were trying to kill him, that he swung at them but punched his mother instead, continued to punch her, threw her down the stairs and kicked her repeatedly, court papers said.

Though he's confined to a central New York mental-health facility and charged with second-degree murder in the death of his mother, it's not clear whether Butler will be found competent to stand trial. Two Tompkins County psychiatrists sent Butler to the facility after "they determined he was in immediate need of psychiatric care," said his attorney Scott Miller.

"Competency to stand trial takes much longer to determine," Miller said. Generally speaking, a defendant has to be competent for all stages of the legal proceedings, including the arraignment, the pre-trial hearings and jury selection, he stressed.

The competency evaluation is not done yet, Tompkins County District Attorney Gwen Wilkinson said.

"Until we get the results of the competency evaluation, it's too early to tell where this case is going," she said.

Ian, 29, is accused of killing Carol, 53, by "repeatedly striking her and kicking her about the head and torso" in her home at 522 Cayuga Heights Road about 2 a.m. on Sept. 23, court papers said. A Cayuga Heights police officer and a Tompkins County sheriff's deputy responded to a report of a possible death in the home about 2:13 a.m., law-enforcement officials said.

Many lights were on in the house, and they saw Joseph Butler -- Ian's teenage brother -- upset and speaking on a cell phone just inside the front door, the papers said. Joseph opened the door and motioned them inside, but Ian approached the front door from a hallway to the left of the entry area. The cross he was holding measured three feet by two feet, and he had a framed passage of scripture in his other hand.

When Ian did not comply with their orders to stop and drop the cross and frame, the officer drew his sidearm and the deputy aimed a stun gun at Ian. Joseph stepped between them and said, "Ian doesn't know what he's doing," the deputy reported.

Ian complied after another order and was taken into custody, the papers said. Police and deputies saw Carol Butler face up in the hallway Ian had exited, and it appeared as though her face had been badly beaten. She was pronounced dead by emergency medical personnel a little while later.

"God is the light," Ian repeated as he was taken to the state police barracks, the documents said, and investigators found blood on the floor near Carol's body, blood and holes in the wall next to it, what appeared to be hairs in one of the holes and bloody footprints on the living room carpet nearby. The investigators obtained a search warrant and gathered a number of items, including the blood evidence, Ian's medical records, the cross and the framed scripture.

Ian also told state police investigators he was on the anti-seizure medication Tegretol, and that he saw his mother using the computer to send messages to his friend Ritchie in New York City, court papers said. She didn't need to do that, Ian told investigators, because she already had a husband.

At Ian's second arraignment in the Village of Cayuga Heights Court that evening, Miller said family members had told him about Ian and Carol Butler's attempt to have him admitted to Cayuga Medical Center, that he has a long history of mental illness, that he's hallucinating and that the Tegretol he was taking was causing him problems. Miller later said Ian was having a psychotic episode when he and Carol tried unsuccessfully to have him admitted to the hospital about 12 hours before she was found dead, and that they believe he was having a psychotic episode during the alleged incidents in the home. Hospital officials have said butler left Cayuga Medical before his evaluation was completed.

The entire Butler family is still mourning Carol and supporting Ian, Miller said Thursday, and Ian won't be returning to court until he's competent.

"He has to be able to participate in the proceedings in a meaningful fashion," Miller said. He's hoping the mental-health facility can adjust Ian's medications to make him competent, he added.

"That way, we can move forward and obtain a just resolution for all interested parties -- the state, Ian and his entire family."

Uncertainty over whether Richard Ramirez would face trial in new slaying cases

October 23, 2009 | 7:39 am

Despite the new investigation into Bay Area slayings connected to "Night Stalker" Richard Ramirez, it remains unclear whether the serial killer would ever stand trial in the cases.

San Francisco police announced Thursday that DNA evidence had linked Richard Ramirez, the Southern California serial killer, to the 1984 slaying of a 9-year-old girl. Detectives this week took DNA evidence from Ramirez, who is on death row at San Quentin State Prison, and said they are building a case against him.

But officials have not said whether Ramirez would stand trial -- even if authorities find enough evidence to charge him.

Ramirez was long considered a suspect in the 1985 slaying of a 66-year-old man, Peter Pan, in San Francisco's Lake Merced district. The man's wife was also attacked but survived.

That attack occurred during the series of murders Ramirez committed in Southern California. After he was arrested, L.A. prosecutors charged him with crimes here, and he was found guilty and sentenced to death.

But Ramirez was never charged in that San Francisco attack.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the SFPD long considered Ramirez a prime suspect in the 1984 slaying of chef and restaurant owner Masataka Kobayashi. Again, no charges were filed.

Ramirez was convicted in 1989 of 13 murders, five attempted murders, 11 sexual assaults and 14 burglaries. But, delayed by problems in getting him a lawyer and preparing the voluminous trial transcript, Ramirez's direct appeal was not heard by the California Supreme Court until June 2006. His convictions and death sentence were affirmed two months later.

Ramirez is continuing the appeals process. If he is charged with additional killings, it remains unclear whether authorities would take him off death row to face new trials. After Ramirez was convicted of the Southern California killings, San Francisco prosecutors decided not to charge him in the Pan case.

The unsolved case of the young girl's killing was reopened five years ago when Police Inspector Holly Pera recalled it from her days as a young patrol officer.

"That's part of the reason why the case was relooked at," Pera said during a news conference. "It's the type of case -- as a new officer, a case involving a little girl -- that you can't forget."

On April 10, 1984, Mei Leung was found dead in the basement of a residential hotel in the Tenderloin district, police said. Investigators did not release details about the slaying.

Police said Mei lived at the hotel with her family. Before her death, she and her 8-year-old brother were seen walking home from a friend's house.

At the time, Ramirez was staying at two hotels in the general area, said Deputy Chief David Shinn.

Mathew Gabriel, the DNA technical leader at the crime lab, said numerous items from the scene were tested, and one resulted in a "cold hit" when run through a national database. The Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) holds about 1.2 million profiles of convicted offenders, and arrestees from past felonies.

The DNA sample from the crime scene will now be compared with the new DNA sample from Ramirez to confirm the cold hit, Gabriel said.

Report: Mother confesses to sex acts with child

Posted: Oct 23, 2009 11:34 PM
Updated: Oct 24, 2009 12:30 AM



CHARLOTTE COUNTY: We got a hold of a confession from the woman accused of raping her 18-month-old daughter. She was the second person arrested in the investigation, and new documents show she admitted to performing sex acts with the infant.

It is a very heartbreaking and disturbing story. The baby's mother was arrested Thursday and in the affidavit, it reports that she confessed to raping her daughter.

The Charlotte Behavioral Health Care Center is where the young mother was arrested. The facility is for mental heath and substance abuse patients.

New documents show that the mother told deputies that she and her boyfriend Glenn Nelson had been performing sex acts on her child since she was born.

Then deputies reported that inside the mother's Port Charlotte apartment, they found pornographic pictures of the baby.

Once she got to the Charlotte County Jail, deputies say the mother became unruly. An incident report shows that corrections deputies had to use a taser on her because she tried to bite one of them.

Glenn Nelson's best friend said the divorced mother had a brain injury and that she just wanted revenge against Nelson because he broke up with her.

"If you find out about her- she's nuts, she's had a brain tumor and she's nuts," said the friend.

But reports show that Nelson confessed to performing sex acts on several occasions with his girlfriend's baby.

In a jailhouse interview on Wednesday, he denied raping the infant. He said he fantasized about it, but never acted on it.

We did put in a request at the jail to interview the mother, but she said no. Her reason was that she has a language disorder and was afraid she'd say the wrong thing.

The mother and Nelson both face charges of capital sexual battery, lewd and lascivious molestation and child pornography.

The mother is being held in jail on a $750,000 bond. Nelson has no bond.