Woman 'who dragged cop' shuns witch tag

17:00 AEST Tue Jul 27 2010 By Jay Savage, ninemsn

A Geelong woman charged with seriously injuring a police officer after dragging him 190m by her car has hit back at reports describing her as a witch.

Eilish De Avalon, 40, has pleaded guilty in the Geelong Magistrates Court to charges including recklessly causing injury and driving while suspended over the February 23 incident.

De Avalon said she is tired of being labelled a witch because of its negative connotations, and would rather be known as a healer and an activist.

"I don't wear the label of witch comfortably," she told ninemsn.

"A lot of witches prefer the title of pagan, or in my case pagan priestess. We are healers. We are psychics."

In the February incident, De Avalon is accused of disobeying Leading Senior Constable Andrew Logan after he pulled her over for allegedly speaking on her mobile phone.

The court yesterday heard De Avalon told Sen-Const Logan she was "a being from another world" with a "universal name" that she would not disclose, the Geelong Advertiser reported.

"Your laws and penalties don't apply to me. I'm not accepting them, I'm sorry, I must go, thank you," police quoted De Avalon as saying.

De Avalon then allegedly drove off while Sen-Const Logan's right arm was trapped in her side window.

The police officer was dragged for 190m before managing to seize the keys from the ignition as De Avalon slowed for traffic, the court heard.

He suffered serious injuries to his arm and shoulder and requires further surgery to repair ligament damage.

De Avalon will be sentenced on August 6.

From: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/7935793/woman-who-dragged-cop-shuns-witch-tag

Russian 'Satanists' jailed for 'ritual sacrifice' teen killings

Six members of a Satanic cult were jailed for up to 20 years in Russia on Monday for four murders in which they "ritually sacrificed", dismembered and then ate their teenage victims in a forest.

Published: 5:38PM BST 26 Jul 2010

The six were found guilty of "murdering four people with the aim of carrying out an initiation ritual into a sect and of desecrating the bodies of the dead," a court in the city of Yaroslavl, north-east of Moscow, said in a statement.

The group, four of whom were minors at the time, killed the four teenagers in June 2008, prosecutors said. They then desecrated the bodies and stole their possessions.

The dismembered bodies of the teenagers were found buried in the forest in August that year.

All six were found guilty of murder, while four were found guilty of desecrating the victims' bodies. The longest sentence of 20 years went to the man named as the group's leader, Nikolai Ogolobnyak.

The members of the gang called themselves Satanists and earlier carried out animal sacrifices, Komsomolskaya Pravda, the Russian daily, reported, citing investigators.

They stabbed the victims and then dismembered their bodies and cooked and ate some body parts, Komsomolskaya Pravda reported.

The four minors received the maximum possible sentence for murder, 10 years, a prosecutor, Tatyana Rachinskaya, said after the sentencing, Interfax reported.

The crimes were "revolting" and "inhumane", Ms Rachinskaya said.

Another member was convicted of murder but pronounced insane and sentenced to compulsory psychiatric treatment.

The court hearings were held behind closed doors due to the horrific nature of the crimes and because of the involvement of minors.

From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/7910893/Russian-Satanists-jailed-for-ritual-sacrifice-teen-killings.html

Australian teenager 'mistaken for deer' and shot dead

An Australian teenager has died after he was shot by a friend who apparently mistook him for a deer during a hunting trip.

Published: 1:18PM BST 26 Jul 2010

The 19-year-old was with his brother and a friend in dense bushland on the border of the states of Victoria and New South Wales when the accident occurred.

The man, who has not been named, became separated from the group at about 5pm and was fatally shot when his friend mistook him for a deer in the fading afternoon light, police said.

One of the men hiked to a farm house to raise the alarm, but the injured man died before ambulances could reach him.

"It is believed one of the men mistook him for a deer and fired a fatal shot at his companion," a police spokesman told Melbourne's Age newspaper.

"It's an accidental shooting at this stage.

"No one has been charged and police that are investigating have not indicated that any charges will be laid." Police are preparing a report for the coroner.

Ambulance officers treated the other men for shock at the scene.

Initial attempts to remove the dead man's body were hampered by the region's rough terrain. Police have since sent a helicopter to airlift the body out.

From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/7910353/Australian-teenager-mistaken-for-deer-and-shot-dead.html

Two young men found hanged

By Tom Wilkinson, Press Association

Tuesday, 27 July 2010

Two men aged 19 and 20 were found hanged today near a clinic.

Officers were alerted to the incident close to the Brockwell Medical Centre, in Cramlington, Northumberland, at about 9.15am.

A Northumbria Police spokeswoman said: "On arrival, officers found the bodies of two men aged 19 and 20, who were pronounced dead at the scene."

A police source said the men were found hanging, and that no one else was being sought in connection with their deaths.

From: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/two-young-men-found-hanged-2036718.html

Ex-Olympian's wife gives evidence in abuse case

Last updated 17:40 26/07/2010

The wife of a former New Zealand Olympian who is accused of beating and raping her told today how he smashed her face and strangled and forced her to have sex with him.

The man, whose name and occupation cannot be published, appeared in the High Court at Auckland today on 12 charges connected to the alleged abuse his wife between March and August 2008.

Giving evidence via video link, the woman described six separate incidents in which the man either beat or raped her, smashed her face on the steering wheel of her car as she was driving, strangled her to the point where she thought she would die, prised her legs open in order to have sex with her and forced her to perform oral sex.

The victim told the court she and the accused became engaged shortly after meeting and at first had a happy marriage.

But he became increasingly protective and jealous when she had anything to do with other men, forcing her to delete their phone numbers and forbidding her from seeing them.

The first time he hit her she thought it was a reflex reaction, a one off, but it continued to happen for the next six months until she contacted police and Women's Refuge.

The man's lawyer, Hugh Leabourn, said there was more than one side to the story.

While it was accepted that the accused got physical with his wife, it was never to the extent that she alleged.

"She gave him a substantial punch to the head and he reacted instinctively by slapping her across the face," he said.

On another occasion, she spat in his face, prompting him to push her.

"That is the extent of the physicality, the defence will argue."

While the couple had their fair share of troubles, they were also very loving and caring of each other and their relationship was not always punctuated by violence, he said.

The man denied that he had smashed her head into her steering wheel, or punched her as he smothered her face with a pillow, or forced her to perform oral sex, as is alleged.

The trial is expected to continue for the rest of the week.

From: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/3957413/Ex-Olympian-beat-wife-then-asked-for-sex

Woman uses railroad spike to battle intruder

Mon Jul 26, 4:29 pm ET

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. – When an intruder came into her home, Stephanie Molina grabbed the first thing she could find to fight him off — a railroad spike. It worked, and police followed the trail of blood to the suspect's apartment.

The Southeast Missourian reported that Molina was at their Poplar Bluff apartment early Friday when a man began shouting outside their door, saying, "Jerry, you owe me money." Molina said the didn't know anyone named Jerry.

Police said 45-year-old Glen Waltman kicked in the door, grabbed Molina and hit her. She picked up the spike and fought back.

Police followed the blood trail to Waltman's apartment in the same building. He was arrested after struggling with police.

It wasn't clear if Waltman had an attorney. He was charged with burglary and robbery.

From: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100726/ap_on_fe_st/us_odd_intruder_railroad_spike

Humans for Animals

Police: Mom Who Killed Daughter Dies

Police Say Mom Killed Girl, Tried Committing Suicide

POSTED: Saturday, July 17, 2010
UPDATED: 11:17 am EDT July 22, 2010

SOUTH LYON, Mich. -- A South Lyon woman who police said gave her disabled daughter a fatal overdose of pills and then tried committing suicide has died.

Donna Carlson, 52, was taken off life support late Wednesday evening and died.

Carlson is believed to have administered a lethal dose of prescription drugs through a feeding tube to her adopted 13-year-old daughter, Grace Carlson, on July 17.

South Lyon police were called to the home on the 900 block of Devon Court after a health care worker showed up to the home for her regular afternoon shift.

The health care worker told police she also found the girl's mother, Donna Carlson, unconscious next to the girl on a bed.

The 911 call was released on Monday.

"People that I work for, I can't wake them up. I think Gracie is dead?" the caller said.

Operator: "Ma'am... How many people are there?" asked the dispatch operator.

"There are two, a woman and her handicapped daughter," the worker said. "I came to work ... I can't wake up one of them and neither one of them are breathing. No Gracie is not breathing and Donna is warm, but Gracie is not breathing."

Gracie Carlson was pronounced dead at the scene and her mother was in crucial condition until she died Wednesday.

After an autopsy on the teenager was completed Monday, the Oakland County Medical Examiner's Office determined that Grace Carlson died of an overdose on medicine.

"We've learned at this point there were some physical issues in controlling the 13-year-old, where the child had become physical with the mother in the past," said Lt. Steven Sharpe. "It's our understanding the mother was feeling extremely overwhelmed in dealing with this situation."

Sharpe said it appears caring for the teen was too much to bear for Donna Carlson.

"We have information the child has physically struck the mother. She may have broken her nose on two occasions," he said. "The child has been with the family the child's natural life, adopted when just a few months old.

We're still gathering info regarding the relationship and background situation."

Sharpe said a suicide note was also found.

Bob Bruner also cares for a special needs child and said he had met Gracie once.

"I'm thinking it got to be overwhelming for the mom,” said Bruner.

He said the shock of Carlson’s alleged actions hits close to home.

"Raising a handicapped child is challenging and rewarding both," said Bruner. "It's a difficult lifestyle," said Bruner.

If Donna Carlson would have survived her suicide attempt, police said she most likely have been charged with first-degree murder.

Neighbors said the family, who lives on Devon Court, includes three other grown children, and that Donna Carlson was often seen taking walks with the teen.

"She liked to walk through the neighborhood. She liked to take pictures of cars," neighbor Heather Bowman said. "That was sort of her little obsession. She would always stop and take pictures of our cars. She was a good little kid."

Bowman said the family was friendly and she never would have expected the mother to show any kind of violence toward her daughter.

"I never would have expected this from this family. It's just very sad," she said.

"It's a shame what happened, but I can't put myself in her shoes, what they went through behind closed doors over there. I cannot. It's horrifying what happened," said South Lyon resident Phil Monroe.

"They were always taking care of her and looking after her," added neighbor Jacob Pollack. "She was definitely a handful that they had to watch 24/7, but they were always keeping an eye on her."

Neighbors said the girl's father was often out of town when the incident happened, but has since returned.

From: http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/24298185/detail.html

Montreal police believe retired delivery man killed his sons, then himself

Mother discovered bodies of her boyfriend and sons at home

Andy Blatchford
Montreal — The Canadian Press

Published on Saturday, Jul. 24, 2010 8:40AM EDT
Last updated on Sunday, Jul. 25, 2010 10:26AM EDT

A retired Montreal pizza delivery man, distraught that his relationship with his girlfriend might be slipping away, killed their two young boys overnight Saturday before committing suicide, police say.

The boys' mother called 911 after she came home early Saturday morning to find the bodies of the couple's sons, aged one and seven, on the floor of their apartment.

The 33-year-old woman also discovered the body of her 72-year-old boyfriend at their home in the city's working-class Ville-Émard neighbourhood.

“The investigation is pointing to a double murder followed by a suicide at this time,” Constable Yannick Ouimet said Saturday as curious neighbours gathered across the street to watch officers comb the scene for clues.

“I can't go into details, but strangulation is (probably) the cause of death for all three people.”

Autopsies will be performed on the bodies Monday or Tuesday to confirm how they died. Police did not immediately release their identities.

Investigators did not find any obvious signs of a struggle inside the home, Const. Ouimet said.

“This is a tragedy that took place, a father that was maybe feeling lonely, or feeling like the relationship was going away, and decided to take the lives of both of his kids,” he said in front of the three-storey apartment block.

“From what witnesses (said) and from what investigators got so far, that seems to be the story.”

The woman was taken to hospital and was later released.

“Obviously, she suffered a severe nervous breakdown when she discovered the bodies,” Const. Ouimet said.

Investigators from the city's major-crimes unit scoured the home for several hours Saturday.

Police have ruled out the mother as a suspect.

Const. Ouimet says the woman came home early Saturday morning after a night out. She phoned 911 at 1:40 a.m.

“She was probably out like anybody does on a Friday or Saturday night ... to get out and spend some time with friends,” he said.

One neighbour, who gave his first name as Sandrin, says he regularly ate breakfast with the family at a local youth centre. He recalled how the couple argued frequently.

But he said he never would have predicted something like this.

“They were normal people,” said Sandrin, who lives around the corner from the family's building.

Sandrin's children, like many of the kids in the area, played with the couple's seven-year-old boy.

Noel Fleury, who lives down the street, used to work with the man years ago at a local restaurant that served pizza, chicken wings and french fries.

He chatted with the family whenever he'd see them around the neighbourhood.

“We saw them on the road all the time,” said Fleury, who last ran into the family on Tuesday.

“I never had a problem (with him) and I never suspected that something like this could happen.”

Mr. Fleury, 67, remembers the man as a nice guy, and his only complaint about him had to do with the restaurant, which closed down years ago.

He said the man only ever wanted to deliver the bigger orders that would pay him more.

“The others? Forget about it,” he said.

From: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/quebec/montreal-police-believe-retired-delivery-man-killed-his-sons-then-himself/article1650614/

Two police forces failed woman killed by ex

26 July 2010 Last updated at 15:02 GMT

A woman murdered by her former boyfriend was failed by two police forces and the 999 system, the police watchdog has found.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) looked at actions by South Wales Police and Gwent Police before the killing of Joanna Michael.

The 25-year-old mother-of-two was stabbed to death at home in St Mellons, Cardiff, by Cyron Williams, 19.

The IPCC blamed a "fatal combination of technological and human errors".

Ms Michael had made two 999 phone calls in the minutes before her death in August 2009 but police did not arrive until after she had been fatally stabbed.

Two police call handlers, one at Gwent Police and one at South Wales Police, face disciplinary action following the inquiry.

IPCC Commissioner for Wales Tom Davies said: "The investigation found that Joanna's emergency phone calls from her mobile phone were misrouted by the mobile phone mast system to Gwent Police which did not help her situation.

"Joanna was then failed by the two police forces at an organisational level with their policies, training and communication systems between the two forces.

"She was further failed by the actions of the two individual call handlers dealing with her request for help."

He continued: "The simple fact is that at 2.29am when Joanna called 999, an immediate police response could have got to her house in five minutes.

"Because of all the various failings, the emergency response did not arrive until 2.50am, when she had already been stabbed, probably at about 2.45am.

"The IPCC cannot say that an earlier response would have saved Joanna's life. For all we know if the police had attended Joanna's house at 2.35am Williams may have just waited until the officers had left before resuming his murderous intentions.

"What we can say for certain is that more could and should have been done for Joanna, who was denied the opportunity for a prompt response which may have led to a different outcome."

Mr Davies said both police forces had accepted the service received by Ms Michael was below standard and have put in place a mechanism to help them overcome "these rare technical glitches".

Williams murdered Ms Michael after breaking into her house and finding her with another man.

He was jailed for life and must service a minimum of 20 years in prison.

In a joint statement, Gwent Police and South Wales Police said they fully acknowledged the IPCC's findings and disciplinary proceeding were under way into the actions of two call handlers.

The statement read: "Uppermost in all our minds today is Joanna Michael.

"As the first anniversary of Joanna's death approaches, our thoughts are with her children, her wider family and all her friends as they continue to rebuild their lives as best they can following her tragic murder by Cyron Williams."

Ms Michael's family issued a statement via their lawyer, Hywel Williams, which said they were carefully considering the report.

The statement said: "It seems to be clear that the police could have attended at Joanna's house within five minutes of her first emergency call which would have been around 10 minutes before she was in fact murdered.

"The report also makes it clear that the two police forces involved had confused and contradictory procedures for dealing with such emergency calls, which we believe tragically led to her death.

"We desperately hope that the IPCC recommendations are urgently acted upon by these police forces and others so that everything possible is done to prevent any further avoidable tragedies."

From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-10759354

Four people found dead in Hampshire house

26 July 2010 Last updated at 14:35 GMT

Four people, including girls aged one and two, have been found dead at a house in Hampshire.

The girls and a woman had been stabbed, while a man was found hanging on the stairway, the ambulance service said.

The BBC understands a relative found the bodies at the property in Provost Street, Fordingbridge.

A worker at local solicitors firm Jacksons said she believed a family lived at the house. Police were called at 1120 BST and a cordon was set up.

A senior police officer told BBC News that the bodies remain in the house while a full search and forensic examination of the property continue.

'Big shock'

Eyewitnesses said there were eight police cars and three ambulances at the scene earlier.

Adam Crew, from the Ship Inn pub, said: "I've had people coming in talking about it but no-one knows much details about it yet.

"Fordingbridge is just a quiet rural town so this is a big shock for everyone to hear that bodies have been found."

Hampshire police said more details were due to be released later.

From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-10763415

Woman charged in Facebook-feud fatal crash

Friday, Jul 23, 2010 19:11 ET

High-speed chase with two women claiming to love the same prison inmate. 1 killed, another critically injured

By DAVID N. GOODMAN, Associated Press

A Facebook feud between two women who claimed to love the same prison inmate led to a high-speed chase and a crash that critically injured one of the rivals, killed her friend and left the second rival facing murder charges.

Torrie Emery was arraigned Friday in Pontiac's 50th District Court on multiple felonies, as friends of the dead woman were holding a car wash to pay for her funeral.

"It's unbelievable," said Pontiac police Chief Valard S. Gross told The Associated Press as he described the escalating dispute that ended with Wednesday's deadly crash. "It's just crazy."

According to Gross, Emery, 23, and Danielle Booth, 20, had been feuding for some time, leading to an earlier police complaint. According to Emery's family, the dispute was over a 23-year-old man now serving time in a Michigan prison.

On Wednesday, Emery was driving when she saw Booth in the passenger seat of a car driven by Alesha Abernathy and started chasing her, Gross said. Emery had her 3-year-old daughter in the car with her.

Police Det. Paul McDougal, who was in an unmarked squad car, saw both vehicles rush by at speeds approaching 100 mph, Gross said. Before McDougal could reach them -- and while a panicked Booth was on the phone with a police dispatcher -- Abernathy ran a red light and plowed into a dump truck, knocking it onto its side but not injuring the truck's driver.

The crash killed Abernathy and critically injured Booth, who was in the intensive care unit Friday at POH Regional Medical Center in Pontiac. Emery and her daughter weren't hurt.

"How can you get that angry or that jealous, really, that you jeopardize the life of your 3-year-old?" Gross asked. "One person's stupidity, and look at the repercussions. It's just a ripple effect."

Emery appeared on video at her arraignment Friday on charges of second-degree murder, assault with intent to do great bodily harm and child abuse. She indicated she would look for a lawyer.

Judge Preston Thomas ordered her jailed without bond and set her preliminary examination for next Thursday.

"We apologize to the family about what happened," Emery's aunt, Tamika White, said after the hearing. "This Facebook stuff is just a mess. They're going on Facebook about a guy that neither one have -- that's in the penitentiary."

"My sister didn't mean to kill anybody," said Traynea Emery, 19.

Across town in the parking lot of Pete's Coney Island restaurant, a group of Abernathy's friends were holding a car wash to raise money for the funeral they said Abernathy's family couldn't afford.

"She was the center of attention," said Brittany Carriti, 22, of Pontiac, a former classmate from Manley Alternative High School in Waterford. She and her friends had raised several hundred dollars by midday.

Abernathy was "always the one for whom the party started," said another ex-classmate, Chandra Tiernan, 23, of Waterford.

While Abernathy knew about the dispute between Booth and Emery, she wasn't involved in it, Tiernan said.

"She died over someone else's problem," Tiernan said.

From: http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2010/07/23/facebook_feud_crash

Quote Unquote: Xenophanes

But if cattle and horses or lions had hands, or were able to draw with their hands and do the work that men can do, horses would draw the forms of the gods like horses, and cattle like cattle, and they would make their bodies such as they each had themselves.


Men create the gods in their own image.


No human being will ever know the Truth, for even if they happen to say it by chance, they would not even known they had done so.

Xenophanes

Don't Tailgate Robert Loggia...

Westboro Baptist Church's Comic-Con Protest Counter-Protested By Superhero Opposition

Jul 23 2010

Seen in the top picture going for a four person sign-holding record (and proving there might actually be something to the whole "strength in numbers" thing after all), the Westboro Baptist Church's Comic-Con protest was met with some stiff opposition to say the least. Maybe God's not on your side after all. The superheroes definitely aren't!

They've faced down humans time and time again, but Fred Phelps and his minions from the Westboro Baptist Church were not ready for the cosplay action that awaited them today at Comic-Con. After all, who can win against a counter protest that includes robots, magical anime girls, Trekkies, Jedi and...kittens?

Unbeknownst to the dastardly fanatics of the Westboro Baptist Church, the good folks of San Diego's Comic-Con were prepared for their arrival with their own special brand of superhuman counter protesting chanting "WHAT DO WE WANT" "GAY SEX" "WHEN DO WE WANT IT" "NOW!" while brandishing ironic (and some sincere) signs. Simply stated: The eclectic assembly of nerdom's finest stood and delivered.

Oh man, I love a good counter-protest. Reminds me of the time I saw some asshat out front of a McDonald's picketing to bring the McRib back. I threw an empty bottle at him. MY SILENCE SPOKE VOLUMES.

From: http://www.geekologie.com/2010/07/westboro_baptist_churchs_comic.php

 

From: http://www.comicsalliance.com/2010/07/22/super-heroes-vs-the-westboro-baptist-church/

OC Pastor Gets 6 Years for Sex with Girls at Church

KTLA News
12:06 AM PDT, July 23, 2010

ANAHEIM -- A pastor in Anaheim has been sentenced to six years in prison for sexually assaulting four girls who attended his church.

Jose Rama Campoverde, 46, was sentenced Thursday after he pleaded guilty to one felony count of lewd acts on a child under 14, five felony counts of lewd acts on a child and two misdemeanor counts of child annoyance.

Campoverde was charged with molesting the girls, who ranged from 13 to 17 years old, between July 2004 and September 2009.

Authorities say the assaults took place at the Ministerio Cristo Vive church and other locations.

He was ordered to register as a sex offender.

The case came to the attention of authorities when one of the girls came forward last fall.

According to the girl, the pastor was waiting for her at a bus stop in Anaheim.

Police say Campoverde told the girl that he was there to drive her home and that he had permission from her mother.

On the way to her house, police say he inappropriately touched and tried to kiss the victim.

Detectives later learned that three other females had also been allegedly victimized by this individual.

From: http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-oc-pastor-sex-assault,0,1645697.story

Mother Calls 911, Says She Strangled Children Because They Were Autistic

Police: "She just called and said that she had done something terrible to the children."

KTLA News
6:47 PM PDT, July 21, 2010

IRVING, TX -- A mother accused of strangling her two young children told a 911 operator she killed them because they were autistic and she wanted "normal kids."

Irving police released the 911 recording after Saiqa Akhter was charged with one count of capital murder in the strangling of her 5-year-old son, Zain Akhter, at the family's apartment Monday night.

Police spokesman David Tull said another capital murder charge is pending in the slaying of her 2-year-old daughter, Faryaal Akhter, who died Tuesday night.

Police say the mother called 911 after attacking the children. In the recording, the woman identifies herself as Saiqa Akhter and repeatedly tells the operator she killed her two children, describing how she first tried to poison them, then later strangled them with some type of wire.

At one point during the recording, the woman hangs up and the dispatcher calls her back.

"I killed them. I killed both of them," she told the operator.

Later, she explained that both children were lying motionless on the bed in the master bedroom.

"They are not doing anything. They are just blue and they are not taking any breaths and ... their heart is not beating," she said.

She told the operator she initially tried to poison the children with bathroom cleaner but they refused to drink it.

When that didn't work, "I used a wire on their necks," she said.

When the operator asked the woman why she attacked her children, she said, "They're both not normal, not normal. They're autistic. Both are autistic." Pressed further, she said, "I don't want my children to be like that. ... I want normal kids."

At one point, water can be heard running in the background and the dispatcher asks what the woman is doing. She told the operator she was trying to wash the smell of cleaner off of her hands. The dispatcher then told the woman to go sit on a couch in the living room and wait for police.

At the end of the recording, police can be heard arriving at the home.

If convicted of capital murder, Akhter could face the death penalty, though prosecutors have not said if they will seek that punishment. Otherwise, she could face life in prison without parole.

The children's father, Rashid Akhter, emigrated from Pakistan in the late 1990s, the newspaper reported. He married Saiqa, who also is from Pakistan, several years later, it said.

From: http://www.ktla.com/news/mobile/ktla-texas-mother-strangles-kids,0,3867157.story

Mother Stabs 10-year old Daughter, Kills Herself

KTLA News
3:40 PM PDT, July 21, 2010

CONCORD, Calif -- Police say a 38-year old woman stabbed her only child in chest before killing herself in an attempted murder suicide.

The 10-year old girl told police that she had been asleep when her mother attacked her with a kitchen knife.

The child managed to free herself from her mother grasp and ran away to call 911.

When police arrived they found her mother, 38-year-old Xuan Liu, dead of an apparent self-inflicted knife wound.

The child was later taken to the hospital where she is in serious but stable condition.

No one else was home at the time of the attack, said Investigations Lt. Jim Lardieri.

Liu was a stay at home mom.

Her husband works at a high-tech firm in Concord.

From: http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-mother-stabbed-daughter,0,5869949.story

Vandal urinates in holy water at local church

Oak Ridge police seeking vandal who urinated in holy water at St. Mary's Church.

Posted: 5:52 PM Jul 22, 2010
Reporter: Mario Boone

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. (WVLT) -- Father Bill McKenzie says while he's not angry, he does have questions. "You wonder what it is that would bring someone to this point," he said.

Investigators say the brazen act committed in broad daylight is definitely a hate crime. "It's the wording that they used in the graffiti toward the church and a group. They made a reference to the gays in the church," said A. R. Massengill with Oak Ridge police.

Father McKenzie says the most hurtful act was done to holy water inside the sanctuary. "Somebody had urinated into that," said McKenzie.

Said Massengill, "it's a horrible case of vandalism when it's directed toward a church."

Instead of jail for those responsible, Father McKenzie offers prayer. "I want them to be called beyond this. I don't want them to carry this their whole life."

From: http://www.volunteertv.com/news/headlines/99055614.html?ref=614

East St. Louis murder site had slaughter chamber

BY NICHOLAS J.C. PISTOR • Posted: Thursday, July 22, 2010 12:25 am

Zachary Irvin took a bus from tiny St. Elmo, Ill., with hopes of finding a job, his family says. Instead, he wound up bound to a chair in an abandoned building on the East St. Louis riverfront.

Irvin's life came to a tortured end a month ago inside an abandoned freight warehouse, where a series of rooms had been fashioned into a human slaughter chamber, according to search warrants obtained by the Post-Dispatch.

The case is so unusual and gruesome that police say they are investigating whether there might be other victims, although none has been found so far.

The warehouse came to police attention after Irvin's dismembered body was found burning on top of a metal landscaping cart nearby. Evidence led investigators to the large warehouse along Front Street, where they found three rooms with blood-spattered floors and walls.

Police found a meat cleaver, hacksaw, drywall saw, metal shears, claw hammer, rope, tin snips and binding material strewn about the rooms. Most of the items had remnants of a "red, blood-like substance," according to the warrants. Also in the room police found a blood stained bandage.

Two homeless men — Dennis Iagulli, 41, and James Pierson, 36 — have been charged with first-degree murder and concealment of a homicidal death. Each was being held in St. Clair County Jail in lieu of $3 million bail. Pierson admitted he was wearing Irvin's belt while he was being interviewed by police, the search warrants stated.

Police also found Irvin's identification and personal items inside the warehouse.

The two men allegedly tied Irvin to a chair as "a way of controlling him," said Lt. Bill Baker, commander of the Major Case Squad team that helped investigate. Police have declined to discuss a motive.

Irvin was lured to the warehouse by Iagulli after they argued at the Rev. Larry Rice's New Life Evangelistic Center in downtown St. Louis, Baker said.

Ray Redlich, assistant director of the New Life Evangelistic Ministries, said Iagulli had been banned from the center and that there is no record of Irvin having stayed there.

Police said Irvin, 22, was shot in the neck and dismembered on June 20.

Two days later, his body was set afire and discarded along nearby Winter Street.

At the burn site, police found Irvin's dismembered body. Search warrants indicate that police were unable to find his legs or one arm.

A number of homeless people had been staying in tents inside the warehouse, police said.

East St. Louis Mayor Alvin Parks said police have since cleared it of trespassers.

"We continue to monitor the situation to make sure everyone is registering for occupancy permits," Parks said. "It's hard. For the last few years, we've seen a surge in the chronic homeless in the city of East St. Louis."

The warehouse is a long way from the Christian revival Irvin had attended a few weeks before his murder.

"He always wanted to help," said Jakob Barrientos, pastor of Freedom Reigns in Christ Church in St. Elmo, who officiated at Irvin's funeral.

"He was very charismatic."

St. Elmo is along Interstate 70 about 90 miles east of St. Louis, near Effingham.

"He had come around the church quite frequently in the last few months," said Barrientos.

Irvin was laid off from his job at the Cumberland Trail Growers greenhouse in May. Paula Miller-Stanley, Irvin's mother, said her son took a bus to St. Louis a few days before he was killed.

"There were no jobs around here, so he went to St. Louis," Miller-Stanley said.

Miller-Stanley said Irvin's grandmother had told her son to see whether the New Life Evangelistic Center could help him find a job.

"I gave him a cell phone, and he called me that weekend," Miller-Stanley said.

"He even called his dad and left him a message on Father's Day."

Miller-Stanley said police arrived at her home a few days later, seeking her son's dental records.

"My son was a good, free-spirited young man," Miller-Stanley said.

"He had people who cared about him. He knew nothing about East St. Louis, and he didn't know these men. This shouldn't have happened."

From: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/article_ac47182b-0b8b-5ec1-a38c-12729e4b85ee.html

Who was C.J. Jones? Troubled teen had troubling fascination with fire, school officials say

BY James Gordon Meek, Christina Boyle, Joe Jackson, Kevin Deutsch and Jonathan Lemire

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Friday, July 23rd 2010, 4:00 AM

The signs were there.

The 14-year-old suspected of wiping out his family in a murder-suicide had a troubling fascination with fire.

Staffers at Intermediate School 72 on Staten Island recommended C.J. Jones get psychiatric counseling after he set several small fires there, sources said.

It was unknown if his mother, Leisha Jones, enrolled him, but it is clear that while he sometimes seemed like a happy, doting older brother, C.J. was grappling with inner demons.

"I can't believe what they're telling me. He's no killer," C.J.'s grandmother, Marcia Anderson, 50, of Washington, D.C., told the Daily News, adding that the D.C. cops informed her of the murder-suicide.

As of Thursday night, she hadn't been able to reach NYPD detectives to get more information.

C.J., his mom and siblings visited Anderson recently and she insisted he exhibited no signs of being troubled.

"He was a nice boy," she said. "He kept touching my face, hugging me, saying, 'Grandma, you okay?'"

C.J. had recently been kicked out of school and was playing with fire just hours before the explosion of violence that left five people dead.

"This is a Columbine level of rage directed at his family," said Dr. Alan Hilfer, director of clinical psychology at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn.

"He would have had to be a very, very disturbed angry kid. Kids act out in a variety of ways but, it's rare that they act out this violently toward their whole family."

Family friend Jacqueline Brooks said C.J.'s mom had been "stressing out because of his problems," and neighbor Raquel Fagone, 43, said she caught the boy playing with matches.

"A couple of months ago I saw him playing with matches, lighting paper on fire," Fagone said. "I came outside and told him to not do that and he said 'okay.'"

From: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/07/23/2010-07-23_troubled_teen_had_love_of_fire_psych_issues__school_officials.html

Son sentenced for murder of parents

01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, July 22, 2010

By Katie Mulvaney
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE — James and Marian Soares allowed their son to continue living with them even after he turned 20, despite his addiction to cocaine. They opened their home up to his girlfriend, too, though the young couple repeatedly raided their bedroom to steal possessions to fund their drug habit.

It was the Soares’ refusal to give up on their son that would end in fatal consequences for the husband and wife. And Tuesday, without revealing any emotion or looking his family’s way, James A. Soares Jr. was sentenced to consecutive life sentences for killing his parents by striking them with a grub ax and then shoving their bodies into a cesspool in the backyard of their home on Baltimore Avenue in Warren.

Judge Francis J. Darigan Jr. questioned Soares’ claims that his mother sexually, emotionally and physically abused her only biological son, calling the 26-year-old a cold-blooded killer driven by greed. Soares, he said, had murdered his parents with premeditation and calculation in July 2008 because he wanted their money, cars and home to share with his girlfriend, Nicole L. Pacheco.

Soares had committed parricide, possibly the only such case ever in Rhode Island. “There’s nothing worse than that in this court’s judgment,” Darigan said.

It was Marian’s absence from a reunion, almost exactly two years ago, that prompted family members to call the police. As officers investigated, James A. Soares Jr.’s story kept changing.

First, he said his parents were on a motorcycle trip. Then, he said his father had left his mother for a woman he’d met on the Internet, and his mother was in Massachusetts, according to Assistant Attorney General Stacey P. Veroni.

Then, the police found a pool of Marian’s blood in a closet. Soares said his father had killed his mother and fled with the body. Then on July 25, he reported that his father killed his mother, but he killed his father and dumped their bodies in the cesspool.

The police found the bodies July 26 and arrested Soares the next day. The medical examiner concluded they died of blows to the back of their heads around July 7.

In asking Darigan to sentence Soares to two consecutive life terms, Veroni told the court of the spending spree Soares and Pacheco went on after his parents’ murders. With his parents’ credit cards, the pair bought a laptop computer, a flat-screen TV, a Sony PlayStation and a Nintendo Wii game system. The couple, Veroni said, also invited friends over for mudslides and calzones in the backyard, just feet above his parents’ decaying bodies.

Pacheco, 22, of Bristol, pleaded no contest in December to 64 financial crimes and was sentenced to five years in prison.

Veroni dismissed Soares’ allegations of abuse by his mother as lies to gain leniency.

Soares’ lawyer, John E. Lovoy, of the public defender’s office, asked for concurrent life terms. Saying he did not intend to disparage the memory of the Soareses, Lovoy said sexual abuse could explain why a man with no history of violence would suddenly snap.

He noted statements by family members that Marian had been sexually abused by her father. It is not unusual, he said, for people who are abused to repeat the pattern. He noted that Marian and James Sr. occasionally used drugs, sometimes with their son, and had been arrested for selling drugs in the past.

But other family members described for the court loving parents who adored their only child together unconditionally, to a fault. They told of being tortured by nightmares and utter distress at the brutal murders of James and Marian at the hands of their son.

“I think ‘Did they see it coming?’ ” said Dawn Viera, James Jr.’s stepsister by his father. “God, I hope not.” Viera turned to address her half-brother, who never looked her way. “I call you an evil coward.”

Her sister, Sherri Thornton, said she wished Rhode Island had a death penalty. “They’re dead, he should be dead.” She pleaded that his time be served in solitary confinement. “He should have to be alone with his haunting memories of murdering his mother.”

In addition to the two life sentences for first-degree murder, Soares received concurrent terms for failing to report his parents’ deaths, conspiring with Pacheco to use his parents’ credit cards and fraudulent use of a credit card. He will be eligible for parole in 40 years.

Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch said he would like Soares to spend his lifetime behind bars, but his crimes did not qualify for life without parole. “We take some solace, however, in the fact that he will be in prison for a minimum of 40 years before being eligible for parole, and I trust that whoever is serving as attorney general 40 years from now will object to his parole,” Lynch said.

Soares’ family gripped hands as Darigan handed down the sentence. They declined to speak with the media, but a weak smile crossed Viera’s face as she let go a deep sigh. She turned to the Warren police. “Thank you. Thank you, very much.”

From: http://www.projo.com/news/content/SOARES_SENTENCING_07-22-10_TEJ9G3T_v12.3a63291.html

Thirteen minature horses dead from lightning tragedy in New Tazewell

Updated: 7/21/2010 10:48:46 PM Posted: 7/21/2010 10:32:32 PM



The latest bout of rain and thunderstorms has been good to many farmers and landowners in East Tennessee - but brings tragedy to one New Tazewell miniature horse breeding farm.

Nearly half a herd of miniature horses huddled under the branches of a large tree Tuesday afternoon, seeking protection from the stormy weather. However a lightning blast struck the tree, scarring the bark and sending a shockwave of electricity that stole the lives of thirteen horses.

Owner Pat Beason was aware of the strike, but unsure where it took place. When she arrived on the scene, she found that part of her herd lying motionless with their hooves in the air. This isn't the family's first brush with dangerous weather related events, but this tragic lightning strike is almost too much for these horse lovers to handle.

Beason cautions parents, families and farmers alike to be more aware of the dangerous of severe storms. "You always hear to get out of the storms, parents say get in the house, get away from the windows...This is proof that it can happen very easily."

The estimated dollar value for the horses they lost is close to $10,000.

From: http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=127967&catid=2

Man killed after trying to 'slap' moving train while celebrating birthday

Posted: Jul 22, 2010 3:27 PM
Updated: Jul 22, 2010 11:19 PM

SUMMERVILLE, SC (WCSC) - A 23-year-old Summerville man was killed early Thursday morning after trying to "slap" a moving train after he had been drinking.

According to the Dorchester County coroner Justin Helton, of Summerville, was at a bar on East Doty Avenue celebrating his birthday. He apparently had too much to drink, got into a few different arguments with people at the bar, and then allegedly went outside upset. He then told someone he was going to "slap the train" that was passing by.

When doing so, he apparently was sucked into the train and suffered multiple fractures and massive blunt force trauma. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

A witness said that she had been with Helton and that he had been drinking and was severely intoxicated.

Another witness, who is an ex-girlfriend of Helton's and had been in an argument with him before the incident, said he went to touch the oncoming train with his hand and that his foot got caught in the track in front of the train. She said it did not appear that he jumped in front of the train.

The train conductor did not know this accident had even happened and had to be stopped farther down the tracks for the investigation.

From: http://www.live5news.com/Global/story.asp?S=12852316

'Blood was just pouring out' - rottweiler tears off shop worker's lip

By Alanah May Eriksen 4:00 AM Saturday Jul 24, 2010

A pet store assistant lost her lip in a dog attack at a "bring in your Rottweilers" promotion in West Auckland yesterday.

The attack happened about 11am at Animates in Westgate.

A horrified witness told the Weekend Herald he was talking to the dog's owner at the shop counter when the female assistant - believed to be in her early 20s - leant down to give the dog a treat.

"He just latched on to her face. It was horrific. Blood was just pouring out. One of the other girls said her lip was basically pulled off.

"On the floor was a tooth, either from the girl or the dog."

He said the owner pulled his dog away immediately and put him in the back of his car before going back inside to check on the woman.

The victim was taken to Waitakere Hospital by car and later transferred to Middlemore.

Spokeswoman Lauren Young said the woman was last night in the emergency department with facial injuries which were not thought to be life-threatening but might require attention from plastic surgeons.

Animal Control says the promotion - which invited owners to bring in their Rottweilers in return for free dog food - was "not a good look".

Waitakere City Council's manager of animal welfare, Neil Wells, said staff had spoken to the owner but the dog would not be destroyed.

"The dog is back at home, he is secure and we are not intending to take any direct action concerning the dog.

"The owner didn't do anything wrong. He had the dog properly contained on a lead and the staff member put herself into the territory of the dog," Mr Wells said.

An Animal Control officer had seen CCTV footage of the attack and there were other dogs in the store at the time but not at the counter.

"We consider the promotion by Animates not well thought out and had the potential for going wrong," Mr Wells said. "Bringing a lot of especially Rottweilers into one place at one time ... was not a good idea ... I think Animates now understand that ... They regretted the whole thing."

Animates general manager Richard Bowker said a review of safety measures for staff and visitors during pet visits was under way.

"The dog and its owner were visiting the store as part of a free dog food promotion for Rottweiler breed-specific premium dog food. Animates has discontinued the promotion."

Mr Bowker said the firm deeply regretted the attack and was doing all it could to support the staff member.

Occupational Safety and Health is investigating.

From: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10660889

Pitbull victim's face of courage

By Elizabeth Binning 4:00 AM Thursday Jul 15, 2010

An 8-year-old boy left with "half his face hanging off" after a pitbull attack told his crying mother he was grateful it was him and not his baby brother or sister.

AJ Maninoa spoke yesterday of the attack in the hope it might stop other children from getting too close to dogs they don't know well.

The West Auckland boy said he was with his mother, Liga Misa, 2-year-old half-sister Tali and 18-month-old half-brother Juergen at a friend's place in Hindmarsh St, Henderson, when the attack happened on Monday afternoon.

Speaking from the Kidz First Hospital at Middlemore, AJ said he had just finished eating some cake and was going to check on Juergen when he saw the pitbull, which was chained up in the garage.

"I went to touch the dog and I saw the teeth and all of a sudden it bit me and I screamed."

As the dog held on to the side of AJ's face - its teeth piercing the skin on his cheek - the terrified little boy fought back.

"It wouldn't let go so I punched it on the side of its face."

The dog released its grip on AJ's cheek and he ran - clutching a hand to his bleeding face - inside to his mother, who screamed when she saw his injuries.

It was on the way to hospital that AJ tried to offer reassurance.

"His Mum was crying," said AJ's father, Andy Maninoa. "He said to her, 'Mum, don't worry, it's lucky it was me and not my little brother or sister, otherwise the dog would have had them for lunch because they are really little."

AJ - short for Andy Junior - spent three hours in surgery, where surgeons worked to repair a tear that narrowly missed his eye and a nerve that controls his upper lip.

He now has more than 100 stitches. Although he's being brave, AJ said: "I'm still scared and I keep on thinking about it."

His message to other children is simple: "Don't go near strange dogs."

Mr Maninoa, who was at work when the attack happened, arrived at hospital expecting to see a few bite marks. He was shocked by the extent of the injury.

"I felt it in my heart," he said, tears rolling down his cheeks. "When I first walked into the room I knew he was brave. He said to me, 'Dad look at my face."'

Mr Maninoa said AJ, who used to spend time in front of a mirror working on his mohawk, was worried about the permanent scars, and kids at school laughing at him.

"We told him, 'You just tell them you are a strong man - you fought with the dog."

Mr Maninoa's partner, Kelly-Ann Julian, said AJ was a wonderful young boy, never once crying despite his horrific injuries.

"It was shocking to see how half his face was just hanging there."

The pitbull, which was destroyed after the attack, was known as an aggressive dog and had a history of rushing at people.

Waitakere City Council animal welfare manager Neil Wells said the council had warned the owners just days before the attack to keep the dog restrained and under control.

An investigation is under way to determine whether they will face charges.

From: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10658889

Bridge game fights "led man to murder wife"

Tue Jul 20, 1:46 pm ET

LONDON (Reuters) – A British man murdered his wife after constant arguments about her ability to play bridge, a court heard Tuesday. Stephen Green, 52, is accused of stabbing his wife Carole to death in January, after fights about her card playing.

Carole Green's body was discovered at the couple's home on January 18 this year -- three days after the prosecution claims she was killed by her husband.

She suffered about 100 injuries to her upper body and neck.

Green, who denies murder, was found by police in the bath with cuts to his wrist and appeared "unfazed" when arrested, Preston Crown Court heard.

Fellow members at Lytham Bridge Club in Lancashire, Diana and Peter Sizer told the court the defendant's attitude at club meetings had changed noticeably in the previous three years, the Press Association reported.

Green had started drinking heavily which led to "vicious" criticism of his wife's prowess at bridge and a deterioration in his own game, Diana Sizer told the court.

Club members would regularly visit each other's homes socially for card games and travel together to competitions across the country, she said.

Intense debates over what hands were played at meetings would also take place at local pubs afterwards.

In either December 2008 or January 2009, a card game at the Greens' home was interrupted when the defendant shouted at his wife and threatened to throw her off the balcony, Sizer added.

Peter Sizer told the court the Greens would play together once or twice a month. Both would start off the night playing together before drinking would commence and partners were swapped during games called Chicago.

"When he thought she had made errors or was not playing well, he could be quite vicious verbally," he said.

The trial continues.

From: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100720/od_nm/us_britain_bridge

Chinese police beat official's wife by mistake

Wed Jul 21, 1:09 pm ET

BEIJING (Reuters) – Plainclothes police severely beat the wife of a provincial official, mistaking her for one of many Chinese who petition government offices in the hope of redressing wrongs, the China Daily reported on Wednesday.

The case of mistaken identity has become a hot topic among Chinese Internet users, highlighting the abuse that China's armies of petitioners routinely suffer at the hands of police and hired thugs who wish to silence them.

Six public security officers set on Chen Yulian, the wife of a provincial law enforcement officer, last month when she tried to enter her husband's office building, which houses the Hubei provincial party headquarters, the China Daily said.

"This incident is a total misunderstanding," the Communist Party chief of the district bureau explained, according the newspaper. "Our police officers never realized that they beat the wife of a senior leader."

China's leaders are obsessed with maintaining social stability and "building a harmonious society" has been their chief concern in the recent years.

Thousands of petitioners take their grievances to Beijing every day. Many of their complaints stem from land seizures, while others seek redress for lay-offs dating from massive bankruptcies in China's state sector in the 1990s.

The men who beat Chen were later identified as public security officers from Wuhan, the provincial capital, who had been assigned to guard the office building and "subdue" petitioners.

"A strong wave of fists rained down on her for more than 16 minutes," the report said.

Chen was knocked to the ground despite her attempt to explain that her husband worked in the office building. She was then transported to a police station and yelled at when she requested medical attention, according to the paper's account.

The attack left her with a concussion, and damaged brain and nerve tissues. Chen was released and sent to hospital after she reached her husband by phone, and ranking police officers apologized profusely.

"Does this mean the police are not supposed to beat leaders' wives, but the ordinary people can be battered?" the China Daily quoted an anonymous visitor to Chen's ward as saying.

From: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100721/od_nm/us_china_beating

Man killed in East Oakland as he gets home from work

Oakland Tribune

Posted: 07/23/2010 06:42:03 AM PDT
Updated: 07/23/2010 08:12:58 PM PDT

OAKLAND — In a couple of days, he would have been out of the neighborhood. Cristorey Mariano, who worked a night shift in housekeeping at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, had planned to move this weekend from his lower-unit apartment at a house in East Oakland, his brother said.

Instead, the 53-year-old retired Navy veteran, who had a wife and 7-year-old daughter in the Philippines, was shot and killed when he got home from work early Friday, staggering up the front steps to his landlord's door, beating on it and shouting for help before he collapsed.

"He is a family man," said his brother, Romeo Mariano, of El Sobrante, who came to the house later that day, shaking his head at the blood stains on the front steps. "He just works. He doesn't drink, smoke or do anything. Who would take someone's life like that?"

Mariano had parked in front of his apartment in the 5700 block of East 15th Street about 1:40 a.m., and was getting out of his car when he was confronted and shot at least once, police said. Nearby California Highway Patrol officers heard the shot and were the first to arrive at the scene, said Oakland police spokesman Jeff Thomason. Oakland officers and emergency crews followed. Mariano was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators have not determined a motive for the shooting, and do not yet know if Mariano was robbed. "This appears to be someone who was a completely innocent victim," said Oakland police Sgt. Tony Jones.

Shaken neighbors were out on the street Friday afternoon, discussing the shooting. They said Mariano had lived in the apartment about two years, and was a quiet man but very nice to talk to.

"He minds his business. He doesn't mess with anyone," said neighbor Vanessa Wells. "This is senseless homicide. It makes no sense. It's scary. I'm worried for my 7-year-old son and neighbors."

Neighbor Rene Poche heard the gunshot. "I came out and saw him fall down the stairs," she said. "When is this going to stop?"

Romeo Mariano said his brother was in the Navy for 20 years but had retired in 2002. He said he worked hard at his job and sent money to his family in the Philippines. His wife and daughter had come for a visit about six months ago.

"It's 10 of us brothers with five of us who were in the military at one time," Romeo Mariano said.

"He was going to move out this weekend. He had a place lined up. Who would do this?"

From: http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_15585513?source=most_viewed

Hungry bear destroys family's car in Larkspur

By Yesenia Robles
The Denver Post

Posted: 07/24/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT

Ralph Story doesn't hold anything against bears, even though one broke into his car early Friday morning in Larkspur and totaled it.

"He was just looking for something to eat; that's what bears do," Story said. "Anyone who lives out here knows there's going to be wildlife here. We learn to live with it."

His 17-year-old son Ben, who usually drives the car, had left a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a stick of deodorant in the car, which is probably what attracted the bear, according to officials.

Early in the morning, a black bear opened an unlocked car door. After he got in, the door closed behind him, Story said.

The Storys believe that as the bear shuffled around the car looking for a way out, he bumped into the gearshift and put the automatic transmission into neutral, sending the car rolling 125 feet back down a hill. It hit a few trees before coming to a stop in some brush.

The 2008 Toyota Corolla is being called a total loss, Story said. The interior is ripped up, the dashboard was torn out, the windshield is broken and the airbags went off, he said.

"It was a big bear, full-grown. It took up both front seats in the car," Story said.

The insurance company will cover the damage.

The bear's joy ride started about 2:30 a.m., when Story's neighbors began hearing strange noises from the home.

After hearing honking from a car for about 45 minutes, a neighbor decided to go see what the noise was.

"She thought we weren't here, so she figured our teens were the ones making the racket," Story said.

As she got close, she noticed something seemingly violent happening inside the car, so she called the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, Story said.

A sergeant and two deputies responded to the call that was supposed to be a check on a suspicious vehicle.

"The deputies were really surprised. They had thought it was maybe kids," said Michelle Rademacher, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's office.

"We got the call at about 4:15 a.m. — it was one of those 'oh my God' calls," Story said.

Of the five family members in the house, only Story's wife, Stacey, had heard some noises, but she ignored them, not knowing they were coming from their own car.

The bear was freed about 5 a.m. when deputies used a long rope to open the car from a distance, allowing the bear to run off.

Story said the adventure will be a fond memory, and he plans to enlarge and frame one of the pictures taken Friday morning.

"When you have teenage kids, it's kind of hard to get your whole family together," Story said. "Last night, we were all out there laughing."

From: http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_15590562?source=pop

19-Year-Old Tells Police He Raped, Stabbed Girl To Death At Holy Land

Staff Reports
5:35 p.m. EDT, July 19, 2010

 

WATERBURY — — Francisco Cruz told police that he had a crush on Chloe Ottman, but when she rejected his advances, he raped her, strangled her and stabbed her to death, according to court documents.

Cruz, 19, faces charges including capital felony — which carries the possibility of the death penalty — in the slaying of Ottman,16.

Cruz was arraigned Monday in Superior Court in Waterbury. His bail was kept at $5 million. Cruz was also charged with murder, first-degree sexual assault and second-degree strangulation.

In a statement that accompanied the arrest warrant affidavit, Cruz explained in detail how he strangled, raped and stabbed Ottman to death.

It is "the most chilling statement I've ever read," said a court official.

Cruz, of 17 Hickory St. in Waterbury, told police that he and Ottman had been friends for about two years. Thursday evening, after meeting at the Brass Hill Mall, they decided to go to Holy Land USA — a decrepit religious theme park on a prominent hilltop in the city — and drink, according to the affidavit. It was 7 p.m. by the time they arrived.

After drinking for a while, Cruz "made my move," he told police. Ottman rejected his advances, but he persisted, until she elbowed him in the face, the document states.

"My glasses went flying off my face," he told police. "I got so mad at her. I hate when people hit me on the face. So after she hit me and as she tried to get up, I grabbed her and put her in a choke hold."

Ottman started screaming, Cruz said, so he covered her mouth, but she screamed louder. Then, Cruz told police, he "pushed [his] thumbs into her throat until she stopped screaming." Ottman soon fell unconscious.

Cruz checked to see that she still had a pulse, then he raped her, he told police.

Then he strangled her again until he could feel no pulse, he told police. Then he took a folding knife from his pocket and repeatedly stabbed her in the neck and threw her body in the woods, he told them.

Friends of the victim in court Monday said they trusted Cruz and that Cruz and Ottman had been friends for years.

From: http://www.courant.com/community/waterbury/hc-holy-land-murder-0720-20100719,0,7044501.story

Woman thought she had powers: murder trial

The Canadian Press

Date: Thursday Jul. 15, 2010 3:33 PM ET

NELSON, B.C. — A woman accused of killing a 12-year-old autistic boy in British Columbia believed her son was "the chosen one," and her daughters were an angel and the Virgin Mary, the eldest daughter testified at her trial.

Lauren Graham told a B.C. Supreme Court on Thursday that her mother, Kimberley Ruth Noyes, once believed she had to sacrifice her younger daughter in order to resurrect her.

And she believed her now ex-husband was the devil, Graham, a 23-year-old mother herself, testified via video conference from her home in Texas.

Noyes is charged with second-degree murder in the death of John David Fulton, whose body was found in her home two days after he disappeared on Aug. 13, 2009, in Grand Forks, B.C., 500 kilometres northeast of Vancouver.

Graham, who left home at 15 but returned in the summers to visit her mother, said that Noyes, 43, had always been active and taken care of herself.

But when she came home to visit in July 2009 -- a month before the murder -- she found her mother despondent and dishevelled.

"She didn't want to talk, she'd lost 40 to 50 pounds, her eyes were sunken in," Graham said during questioning by the defence. "She looked really sick.

"She had hit rock bottom as far as mood. She wasn't there. She had a glazed-over look. If you'd tried to punch her, she wouldn't have blinked."

Graham said she called a mental health case worker, who said they would take her to the psychiatric ward. The court has already heard that Noyes was not admitted.

Dr. Richard Magee testified previously that in July 2009 Noyes was "in a fragile situation, irritable, problematic, flighty."

However, he didn't believe there was enough evidence to force her into hospital.

"It's fairly difficult to get into a hospital these days, so it must be a fairly acute case -- like suicidal," he said.

Another psychiatrist testified on Wednesday that Noyes did not recognize that she had bipolar disorder, refused to take medications, and believed she had supernatural powers.

Dr. Honald Vasi said Noyes was diagnosed in 2003 with bipolar disorder, a condition that causes manic delusional episodes as well as suicidal depressions.

It can be controlled quite well if a patient stays on medication, Vasi said in court in Rossland, B.C. But Noyes was not taking medication.

Vasi testified that he'd treated Noyes on four occasions when she'd been committed to a psychiatric ward at Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital in nearby Trail.

Each time she was in a manic phase, he said, quite psychotic and completely rejecting the notion that she was mentally ill. Noyes believed her dead father was God, that the devil was in her house and that God was coming in a helicopter to take everyone away.

"She displayed signs of agitation, anger, (verbally) aggressive behaviour, grandiosity, and no insight," he said of her first stay in September 2006.

In August 2007, Vasi saw Noyes again. She told him she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit with seven babies.

In March 2009, her third visit, he said she was aggressive, non-compliant, and had stopped taking medications some months before because she thought she did not need them.

Vasi told the court that he worried Noyes was capable of hurting herself, even taking her own life, but he did not believe she was capable of hurting another person or a child.

Noyes' fourth stay at the hospital began in April 2009. It was the last time Vasi saw her.

He told the court that only about 20 to 25 per cent of patients are fully well when they're discharged from the psychiatric ward. A couple of times, he felt that applied to Noyes.

"Where did she fall?" Crown lawyer Philip Seagram asked.

"On a couple of occasions she was fully well," Vasi said. "There was one occasion when she wasn't fully well."

Defense attorney Deanne Gaffar pointed out to the court that Noyes's condition worsened over the years yet she was prescribed smaller doses of medication than at the outset of her disease.

"In 2007, did you know she was going to sacrifice her eight-year-old daughter so she could resurrect her?" Gaffar asked.

"You had no assessment that she would physically harm another person?"

"No. I never saw any indication that she would harm a child," Vasi responded.

The trial continues.

From: http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20100715/supernatural-powers-100715/

Transvestite had sex with a dog at English Heritage castle

A transvestite had sex with a dog in the moat of an English Heritage castle.

Published: 10:59AM BST 21 Jul 2010

The cross-dressing man was caught with the animal in the dry moat of King Henry VIII's Pendennis Castle overlooking Falmouth Bay in Cornwall.

The 33-year-old mounted the pet after it chased him out of sight of its woman owner.

The owner had been walking around the ancient castle with a friend when the pair spotted the lone transvestite on the morning of Saturday July 10th at around a quarter to twelve.

He was wearing a black dress and walking around the steep-walled, empty moat.

As the two ladies spotted the cross dresser he ran away. Later one of the dogs chased after the man; by the time the women had caught up, the man was having sex with the pet.

Castle staff then restrained the man while police were called.

Pendennis Castle, managed by English Heritage, is a popular family tourist attraction and was heaving with visitors in high season.

He was escorted home and later made a "full and frank confession", and received a caution for outraging public decency.

A police spokesman said: "Other agencies were liaised with and he was handed over to them".

A spokesman for English Heritage said: "This was a very rare incident".

From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/7902348/Transvestite-had-sex-with-a-dog-at-English-Heritage-castle.html

Falling tree kills woman

Pacific Daily News • July 22, 2010

A 54-year-old woman is dead after a tree fell on her across from the Pigo Cemetery yesterday, Guam Memorial Hospital nursing supervisor Sally Quichocho confirmed last night.

Earlier yesterday afternoon, Guam Police Department Officer Albert Preuc said three individuals were injured after a tree fell on them while they were watching Liberation Day festivities.

A minor was released to his or her parents, while a man and a woman were transported by medics to Guam Memorial Hospital, Preuc said around 3 p.m. yesterday. At that time, the condition of the patients wasn't available. Preuc said he didn't know how the tree fell on the parade onlookers.

Quichocho confirmed at 10 p.m. yesterday that a 31-year-old man was in stable condition, but a 54-year old woman had been taken to Naval Hospital and was pronounced dead there.

Her body was taken to Guam Memorial Hospital yesterday evening, Quichocho said.

No other details were available last night.

From: http://www.guampdn.com/article/20100722/NEWS01/7220326/Falling-tree-kills-woman

'Idiot' stole keys from ambulance

Last updated 19:05 22/07/2010

Taupo ambulance staff are appealing to an "idiot" to return keys he stole from an ambulance left running while staff attended a callout.

St John Ambulance Taupo operations team manager Graeme Harvey said staff were horrified at the act, which could well have put lives at risk.

Officers were at a medical job in Tobin Place when the keys were stolen.

They discovered the keys missing when they went to load the patient into the ambulance to take them to hospital.

Mr Harvey told The Rotorua Daily Post he hoped the thief would either anonymously let staff know where the keys had been dumped, or return them to the station.

From: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/3947665/Idiot-stole-keys-from-ambulance

Mom's ex-boyfriend charged with shooting toddler

July 21, 2010 7:06 AM

A man was charged early this morning with shooting a 1-year-old girl, wounding her in the cheek and shoulder, during a family outing, police say.

Tarenzo Dillon, 26, of the 4600 block of South Michigan Avenue, was charged with aggravated battery with a firearm.

Early Monday morning, the girl was sitting in a park in the 7600 block of South Dobson Avenue when a fight broke out between her mother's current and former boyfriends, police said.

Dillon, the former boyfriend, fired shots and the girl was struck in the cheek and shoulder as she sat in a stroller, police said.

The mother tried to distance herself from the commotion but as she was walking away, she noticed her daughter was bleeding, police said.

The girl was taken to Jackson Park Hospital and Medical Center, then transferred to Comers Children's Hospital where she underwent surgery to her shoulder and jaw, officials said earlier. The child was listed as stable, police said.

Court records show Dillon was convicted in 2006 of a felony weapons charge and sentenced to a year of probation.

He is scheduled to appear in Central Bond court later today.

From: http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/07/man-charged-in-shooting-of-toddler.html