By THOMAS J. SHEERAN Associated Press Writer © 2010 The Associated Press
Aug. 20, 2010, 7:24PM
COLUMBIA STATION, Ohio — A bear attacked and killed its caretaker at the home of a man who kept a menagerie of dangerous, exotic beasts and ran afoul of animal regulators a few years ago by staging wrestling matches between bears and humans.
The bear in the attack southwest of Cleveland was not one that owner Sam Mazzola had used for wrestling, officials said. His license to show animals had been revoked, but he still kept dozens of bears, wolves, tigers, lions and perhaps coyotes. The state said Mazzola had no violations for owning animals under Ohio regulations.
The bear was out of its cage for its feeding Thursday evening by 24-year-old Brent Kandra, "which was normal for this particular bear because the caretaker and the owner had been around it so much," Lorain County Sheriff's Capt. James Drozdowski said. Mazzola used a fire extinguisher to force the bear back into its cage.
"We don't know whether something startled the bear or what prompted the bear to get aggressive with the caretaker," Drozdowski said.
Kandra, of Elyria, died Friday morning at MetroHealth Medical Center, the coroner's office in Cleveland said. The coroner said the tentative cause of death was "sharp and blunt injuries to the body consistent with a bear attack."
A rescue squad took Mazzola to a hospital Thursday night with an unspecified medical problem that Drozdowski said was not from any injury.
In brief comments to reporters outside his compound, Mazzola said he was the only witness to Thursday night's attack. He declined to describe the attack, but said the bear was the victim's favorite.
"It's one that he played with constantly, every time that he was here," Mazzola said.
Whether the bear will be euthanized will be up to the victim's family, Mazzola said. "I want them to know that Brent loved the bear very much and I'm sure the bear loved him very much," he said.
Mazzola showed off a facial scar he got from an encounter with a bear and said he had gotten 2,000 stitches from injuries suffered while working with animals.
"These are the things that happen when you deal and love these type of animals," he said.
Mazzola, who had filed for bankruptcy this year and had convictions for illegally selling and transporting animals, returned to his home around noon Friday. Authorities will investigate before deciding on any criminal charges.
Kandra was an experienced worker who helped Mazzola maintain the compound in Columbia Township, the owner's attorney, John Frenden, said Friday.
The property held about seven to nine bears and 20 wolves, and possibly a lion and three or four tigers, Drozdowski said. Neighbors said he also kept coyotes.
Mazzola said in his bankruptcy filing in May in federal court in Cleveland that he owned two white tigers, two Bengal tigers, an African lion, eight bears and 12 wolves. The filing also listed "Ceasar the Wrestling Bear" as a trademark Mazzola held.
Mazzola's street divides Cleveland's outer suburbs from rural Lorain County, with an upscale development on the suburban side and older, widely separated homes on the other. His gate was closed Friday with a no-trespassing sign posted, and sheriff's deputies were posted nearby.
Tom Burrington, 68, a retiree who lives two doors down, says he's fed up with noise from the animals and the risk to the neighborhood.
"It's a pain in the neck. There are coyotes hollering at night, lion roaring at night, junkyard dogs barking all day," Burrington said as neighbors gathered across the street.
"It's gotten worse the past few years. It's gotten noisier. He didn't have the wolves and the coyotes before. You can't sleep with the window open."
Raymond O'Leary, a retired Cleveland police officer who lives in the development, said it was like living "next to the zoo."
"It's a concern to all of us," said O'Leary, 76. "We can hear the animals in the evening, at feeding time, roaring over there."
Mazzola used to offer people the chance to pay to wrestle a black bear at the annual Cleveland Sport, Travel & Outdoor Show. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, based in Norfolk, Va., four years ago made Mazzola a focus of its national efforts to ban bear wrestling and demanded that the U.S. Department of Agriculture take away his license to exhibit exotic animals.
Andrea McNally, a USDA spokeswoman, confirmed Friday that the agency revoked Mazzola's license to exhibit animals — but she noted that the agency does not regulate private ownership of exotic animals.
Ohio requires permits for anyone owning bears in the state, and Mazzola has had such permits for 20 years, including one for nine bears for 2010, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Ohio does not regulate the ownership of non-native animals, including lions or tigers.
Mazzola pleaded guilty in September 2009 in federal court to taking a black bear to Toledo without a license, records show. He also pleaded guilty to selling a skunk without a license at a pet store he operated and trying to sell another skunk. He was sentenced to three years' probation and ordered to perform 250 hours of community service.
A neighbor and friend of Mazzola, Michael Strickland, 48, said that he has helped Mazzola feed the animals through the fence and that his teenage nephew wrestled a bear on the grounds nine years ago. Strickland praised Mazzola's work with animals and his affection for them.
"He treats the animals as if they were his children," he said. "He takes excellent care of the animals."
Bear attacks in the wild have already killed at least two people this year.
Federal wildlife officials in June tracked down and killed a grizzly bear suspected of fatally mauling a man in Wyoming. A grizzly bear mauled three campers in Montana in late July, leaving one man dead and two people with serious injuries.
From: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/top/all/7162502.html
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Man creates art with deceased animals' remains
written by: Jeffrey Wolf Kevin Torres 08/21/2010
WAPITI, Wyo. - Hobbies vary depending on a person's interests. In the northwest corner of Wyoming, there is a man who makes art out of deceased animals' remains.
About 25 years ago, Charles Kirkham, Jr. took a new interest in the animals he loved. He decided to turn their bones and antlers into art.
"I buy and sell antlers," Kirkham said. "I buy every antler that comes in the door that I can afford."
Over the years, Kirkham has spent more than $1 million purchasing antlers. They come from a number of different animals.
"Mule deer, white tail, elk and moose [to name a few]," Kirkham said.
As a biologist, Kirkham always had a love for animals. That love grew even larger when he found out he can make art and a living off of their remains.
"I create chandeliers and lamps and candle holders out of the antler," he said. "I'm creating things I'll never be able to duplicate. I'll try to use all local antlers as much as possible."
Kirkham has collected plenty of game. It's pretty easy to find antlers and bones in the area he lives in, about 20 minutes east of Yellowstone National Park.
"Look in all directions," he said. "It's wonderful!"
If you're wondering how Kirkham survives, you should probably take a look at his prices. The prices of some of his items climb into the thousands.
"My repeat customers are really carrying me," he joked.
The art he creates is rare. So rare, it could take months, years, or even decades to complete.
"I might wait one year for one white tail antler for a chandelier or I might wait 25 years putting together certain deer antlers," Kirkham explained.
That's the sort of time you get to work on things when you live out in Kirkham's corner of the world.
From: http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=149167&catid=222
WAPITI, Wyo. - Hobbies vary depending on a person's interests. In the northwest corner of Wyoming, there is a man who makes art out of deceased animals' remains.
About 25 years ago, Charles Kirkham, Jr. took a new interest in the animals he loved. He decided to turn their bones and antlers into art.
"I buy and sell antlers," Kirkham said. "I buy every antler that comes in the door that I can afford."
Over the years, Kirkham has spent more than $1 million purchasing antlers. They come from a number of different animals.
"Mule deer, white tail, elk and moose [to name a few]," Kirkham said.
As a biologist, Kirkham always had a love for animals. That love grew even larger when he found out he can make art and a living off of their remains.
"I create chandeliers and lamps and candle holders out of the antler," he said. "I'm creating things I'll never be able to duplicate. I'll try to use all local antlers as much as possible."
Kirkham has collected plenty of game. It's pretty easy to find antlers and bones in the area he lives in, about 20 minutes east of Yellowstone National Park.
"Look in all directions," he said. "It's wonderful!"
If you're wondering how Kirkham survives, you should probably take a look at his prices. The prices of some of his items climb into the thousands.
"My repeat customers are really carrying me," he joked.
The art he creates is rare. So rare, it could take months, years, or even decades to complete.
"I might wait one year for one white tail antler for a chandelier or I might wait 25 years putting together certain deer antlers," Kirkham explained.
That's the sort of time you get to work on things when you live out in Kirkham's corner of the world.
From: http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=149167&catid=222
Woman brutally stabbed, left to die in Vanier parking lot, Ottawa police believe
By Gary Dimmock, The Ottawa Citizen August 20, 2010
OTTAWA — Detectives are investigating a suspicious death after the body of a woman was found in a Vanier parking lot Friday morning.
The Citizen has learned the victim was stabbed in the head and legs, leading police to believe she had been knifed as she tried to escape — only to be cornered and then left to die in the parking lot of a walk-up apartment building on Alice Street in Vanier.
Her body was found next to the building between parked cars in the east-end of the lot.
Initial calls to police indicated that she had been found by a man, possibly a boyfriend who had hopes of marrying her one day.
By day’s end, police were still trying to confirm her identity. An autopsy to determine her cause of death is scheduled for Saturday morning.
It was expected that police were investigating Ottawa’s ninth homicide this year.
Detectives worked hard Friday interviewing a handful of people who live on the street. These police witnesses mostly reported they did not see or hear anything out of the ordinary Thursday night or early Friday morning.
The body of the dead woman, who was wearing heavy make-up, was removed by morgue services at about 2 p.m.
Earlier Friday, detectives emerged from a house on nearby St. Ambroise Street with what appeared to be bags of evidence. The house is about 100 metres from where the body was found.
A man who answered the door said the police spoke with him earlier in the day but would not comment further.
Police identification officers could also be seen taking photographs in a backyard and in the parking lot near the building.
Yellow police tape was strung around the area and police closed off two blocks of Alice Street, which is in Vanier near the intersection of Beechwood Avenue and the Vanier Parkway.
Neighbours said they heard nothing unusual. One woman said she looked out at 7:30 a.m. and saw nothing. Fifteen minutes later, the area was cordoned off with police tape, she said.
Erica Ayres, who lives across the street from the parking lot where the incident occurred, said she didn't know anything had happened until she received text messages from friends asking if she was alright Friday morning. She looked out her window and saw the woman's remains under a white cover, she said. "I was thinking, Whoa, this is too much for me first thing in the morning," she said.
Residents said the street is usually quiet and safe. There are some problems with drug use and prostitution in the area.
Jesse Mulloi, whose apartment overlooks the parking lot where the woman's remains were found, said she was shaken by the incident. “It’s right behind where my room is. It’s terrifying,” she said.
From: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/health/Woman+brutally+stabbed+left+Vanier+parking+Ottawa+police+believe/3421836/story.html
OTTAWA — Detectives are investigating a suspicious death after the body of a woman was found in a Vanier parking lot Friday morning.
The Citizen has learned the victim was stabbed in the head and legs, leading police to believe she had been knifed as she tried to escape — only to be cornered and then left to die in the parking lot of a walk-up apartment building on Alice Street in Vanier.
Her body was found next to the building between parked cars in the east-end of the lot.
Initial calls to police indicated that she had been found by a man, possibly a boyfriend who had hopes of marrying her one day.
By day’s end, police were still trying to confirm her identity. An autopsy to determine her cause of death is scheduled for Saturday morning.
It was expected that police were investigating Ottawa’s ninth homicide this year.
Detectives worked hard Friday interviewing a handful of people who live on the street. These police witnesses mostly reported they did not see or hear anything out of the ordinary Thursday night or early Friday morning.
The body of the dead woman, who was wearing heavy make-up, was removed by morgue services at about 2 p.m.
Earlier Friday, detectives emerged from a house on nearby St. Ambroise Street with what appeared to be bags of evidence. The house is about 100 metres from where the body was found.
A man who answered the door said the police spoke with him earlier in the day but would not comment further.
Police identification officers could also be seen taking photographs in a backyard and in the parking lot near the building.
Yellow police tape was strung around the area and police closed off two blocks of Alice Street, which is in Vanier near the intersection of Beechwood Avenue and the Vanier Parkway.
Neighbours said they heard nothing unusual. One woman said she looked out at 7:30 a.m. and saw nothing. Fifteen minutes later, the area was cordoned off with police tape, she said.
Erica Ayres, who lives across the street from the parking lot where the incident occurred, said she didn't know anything had happened until she received text messages from friends asking if she was alright Friday morning. She looked out her window and saw the woman's remains under a white cover, she said. "I was thinking, Whoa, this is too much for me first thing in the morning," she said.
Residents said the street is usually quiet and safe. There are some problems with drug use and prostitution in the area.
Jesse Mulloi, whose apartment overlooks the parking lot where the woman's remains were found, said she was shaken by the incident. “It’s right behind where my room is. It’s terrifying,” she said.
From: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/health/Woman+brutally+stabbed+left+Vanier+parking+Ottawa+police+believe/3421836/story.html
Invasion of the giant Rats
Published: 19 Aug 2010
HORRIFIED neighbours told yesterday how their homes are being invaded by giant rats - including a 30-INCH LONG monster that was shot dead.
The rodents, twice the size of common types, are plaguing an estate in Bradford, West Yorks, often appearing in kitchens and lounges.
It is feared some could be "super rats" from South America.
Pictured above is a monster 2½ft rat killed on the estate.
But the shaken man who shot it in the head - 31-year-old Brandon Goddard - yesterday revealed FOUR others of the same size scuttled away to safety.
And he said: "They were more like Ratzillas than rats.
"I got out of there as fast as I could. Who knows how many there will be if they've been breeding?"
The shot rat, feared to be from a species native to South America, is TWICE as big as common British types and the largest seen here.
The residents of Ravenscliffe estate in Bradford, West Yorks, are used to seeing massive rodents that sometimes appear in their kitchens and lounges.
Even so, the new colony shocked them. Shown a picture of the dead creature, mum-of-five Rebecca Holmes, 38, gasped: "Oh my God! I've seen them as big as cats but never that big."
Brandon toted an air rifle as he went "ratting" with pals on the edge of the estate - which they had heard was rife with rodents.
The group heard "rustling and scrabbling" before the five huge rats shot out from behind a wall. Brandon, a manager at a cleaning firm, said: "The first went right past but we got the second one. Then three more got away.
"I've seen thousands of rats during the course of my work and go shooting a couple of times a week. But I've never seen any as big as this. The one I shot was absolutely terrifying. I was shaking. Goodness knows where the others went. I'm glad I don't live there."
After taking the photo, the ratters dumped the shot rodent in undergrowth. It is thought it was eaten by a fox.
The estate has long had a monster rat problem. Rebecca told how her cat Marie cornered one in her lounge. But it stood and fought as it was just as big as the moggy.
A neighbour clobbered it with a baseball bat.
And he and Marie took five dead rats to the local council's offices, tipping them over a desk to demand action.
Rebecca said: "They came quickly, blocked holes and put down poison. But people still see them outside regularly."
Neighbour Julie Briggs, 28, told how she and partner Andrew Denton, 24, hear rats fighting and squealing in the walls of their rented semi, which stands opposite open countryside.
Mum-of-six Julie said: "I find droppings on the cooker when they get into the house. I've seen them in the lounge as we watch TV.
"At night you can hear them chasing each other in the loft. They sound like drag racing cars as they screech across the rafters."
Last night experts called the shot rat "extraordinary" and said the colony was worth investigating.
Laura Drake, of the Mammal Society, speculated it could be a coypu - a South American rodent often referred to as a "giant rat".
Coypus were thought to have been eradicated in Britain in a cull 20 years ago. But Laura said it was "not impossible" there had been survivors.
Yorkshire Rat Club president Colin Arundel said rodents, like humans, could simply be getting bigger as food becomes more and more available.
The RSPCA said: "The most likely answer is the shot rat was from a non-indigenous species that was in captivity and got out."
From: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3102460/Invasion-of-the-giant-rats-in-Bradford.html
Man Shot, Pants Stolen
Police Seek Help To Identify Men In Surveillance Video
POSTED: 11:13 am CDT August 19, 2010
UPDATED: 1:02 pm CDT August 19, 2010
Watch Video here: http://www.kmbc.com/news/24687425/detail.html
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Not only was the man in this surveillance video shot in the chest, the shooter and his accomplice removed the victim’s pants and took them away.
Kansas City, Mo., police released this surveillance video Wednesday to get the public’s help in identifying the two attackers.
The shooting happened July 25 near the corner of 20th Street and Main Street in downtown Kansas City. The victim was skateboarding when the men appeared around the corner of a building and fired a shot at him.
The men then grabbed the victim and shot him in the chest. After the victim fell to the ground, they pulled his pants off and walked away.
The victim’s wallet and cell phone were inside the pants. He was taken to the hospital, where he was treated and released.
From: http://www.kmbc.com/news/24687425/detail.html
POSTED: 11:13 am CDT August 19, 2010
UPDATED: 1:02 pm CDT August 19, 2010
Watch Video here: http://www.kmbc.com/news/24687425/detail.html
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Not only was the man in this surveillance video shot in the chest, the shooter and his accomplice removed the victim’s pants and took them away.
Kansas City, Mo., police released this surveillance video Wednesday to get the public’s help in identifying the two attackers.
The shooting happened July 25 near the corner of 20th Street and Main Street in downtown Kansas City. The victim was skateboarding when the men appeared around the corner of a building and fired a shot at him.
The men then grabbed the victim and shot him in the chest. After the victim fell to the ground, they pulled his pants off and walked away.
The victim’s wallet and cell phone were inside the pants. He was taken to the hospital, where he was treated and released.
From: http://www.kmbc.com/news/24687425/detail.html
Thursday, August 19, 2010
The Monster Club
The Monster Club is a 1980 British horror film directed by Roy Ward Baker and starring Vincent Price and John Carradine. An anthology film, it is based on the works of the British horror author R. Chetwynd-Hayes.
Plot
A fictionalized version of Chetwynd-Hayes (Carradine) is approached on a city street by a strange man (Price) who turns out to be a starving vampire named Eramus. Eramus bites the writer, and in gratitude for the small "donation", takes his (basically unharmed but bewildered) victim to the titular club, which is a covert gathering place for a multitude of supernatural creatures. In between the club's unique music and dance performances, Eramus introduces three stories about his fellow creatures of the night: A hybrid creature called a Shadmock leads a troubled existence and kills by whistling, a peaceable family of vampires is relentlessly if ineptly hunted by a team of bureaucratic undead-killers, and a movie director scouting locations for his next film pays an unpleasant visit to a small backwards village, Loughville near Hillington, Norfolk, inhabited by a species of ghoul. At the end of the film, Eramus cheerfully lists to the other club-members all the imaginative ways that humans have of being horrible to each other, and Chetwynd-Hayes is made an honorary monster and member of the club.
Despite Vincent Price's decades-long career as a horror actor, The Monster Club features what may be his only film performance as a vampire; although he appeared as Dracula in the educational film "Once upon a Midnight scary". Christopher Lee was originally sought for the role of Chetwynd-Hayes, but flatly turned the offer down simply upon hearing the film's title from his agent. The character of Lintom Busotsky is a film producer, and his name is an anagram of the real film's producer, Milton Subotsky.
Directed by Roy Ward Baker - Produced by Milton Subotsky - Written by Edward Abraham, Valerie Abraham - Starring Vincent Price, Donald Pleasence, John Carradine, Stuart Whitman - Music by Douglas Gamley - Cinematography Peter Jessop - Editing by Peter Tanner - Release date(s) 1980 - Running time 97 min. - Country United Kingdom
Watch Movie here: http://www.youtube.com/user/MultiHorrorfilms#g/c/597F54F9F6D3A801
Boy, 13, accidentally dies while attempting new internet craze 'the choking game'
Last updated at 10:51 AM on 19th August 2010
A coroner has issued a warning to parents about a dangerous internet craze called the 'choking game' after a young boy died by accidentally hanging himself.
Harry Robinson, 13, had been enjoying an unexpected day off school due to snow earlier this year when his younger brother discovered his body in the bathroom.
Charlie Robinson, 11, managed to cut him down but Harry was later pronounced dead in hospital.
An investigation later revealed children at the teenager's school had been playing risk-taking games and an urgent letter was sent to parents.
The fad involves children filming themselves with a variety of props to achieve a 'high' and posting the results online. Sometimes they are with friends but often they are alone.
Essex and Thurrock coroner Caroline Beasley-Murray recorded a verdict of accidental death yesterday, saying: 'There's sufficient evidence before me to believe it was highly likely Harry was experimenting with the choking game and it's gone terribly wrong.
'There's clearly national concern about this practice. It's an extremely dangerous practice that children are engaging in - to say they are dicing with death is an understatement.
'None of these children intend to kill themselves - there is no evidence Harry wanted to kill himself.
'We need to educate them about the risk they are taking. We need to educate parents in what to look out for - the tell-tale signs.
'The family wish to publicise these dangers so no other family has to go through what they have been through.'
Air Training Corps cadet Harry was a pupil at Notley High School in Braintree, Essex, where X-Factor star Olly Murs was a pupil, but it was closed on January 7 due to the weather.
Instead, he remained at home in Terling, near Chelmsford, with Charlie. Their mother Amanda Keable, who also has a daughter, Rhianna, 15, was out at the time.
A coroner's officer told Chelmsford Coroners Court: 'Harry went to the toilet and a short time later his brother found the door was locked. He phoned his mother and told her that.'
He added that his brother managed to open the door and cut Harry down. He then went to a neighbour to get help.
An ambulance was called at about 7pm and the teenager was taken to Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford but it was too late to save him.
Mrs Beasley-Murray said Harry's death must have been a 'tragic accident', explaining: 'Clearly it had been a very happy day. He had been playing in the snow.'
Miss Keable was too upset to talk after the hearing and her estranged husband Simon Robinson, 44, was not present.
But Susan Moss, the assistant head teacher at Harry's school, said staff had become aware of children taking risks with their lives.
She added: 'Harry was a very happy boy. In looking for explanations why he did this, and the way in which he was found, it suggests it may be what was involved. It came up after talking with his friends.'
'Also, there's a series of games of high risk-taking, that start with silly things like eating a tablespoon of chilli, and goes through a range of things they can do, each time increasing the risk.'
She added: 'Children are very secretive when they are in early adolescence. They keep things to themselves.
'Parents should look to see what children have filmed on their phones and what websites they are looking at.
'Also, they should check their Facebook pages and social websites they are looking at. Another thing to look for is bruising or scuff marks around their necks.'
From: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1304204/Boy-13-accidentally-dies-attempting-new-internet-craze-choking-game.html
Couple urged toddler to hit herself on video
By MELANIE PLENDA
Union Leader Correspondent
Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2010
CLAREMONT – A couple allegedly coerced a severely abused toddler to hit and poke herself on video to make it look as if she had caused her own injuries, according to police and prosecutors.
Laura Sullivan, 23, of Claremont, and Jason Longley, 22, of Acworth, are each facing a felony charge of falsifying evidence. Police and child welfare workers are still trying to determine who injured the child, Sullivan County Attorney Marc Hathaway said.
State Trooper Eric Berube was able to enhance the sound on the tape, and said he could hear Sullivan's voice in the background, giving the 2-year-old instructions that included, "hit yourself," "faster," and "poke your eyes."
Sullivan and Longley initially showed the tape at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, where the girl was taken with "bleeding in her eyes and brain, a severe skin infection on her face, and strange bruising patterns," according to Berube's arrest affidavit. Doctors found six blood clots behind her eyes. One nurse described the bleeding in the girl's brain as consistent with being shaken.
Both Sullivan and Longley denied hurting the girl, according to court records.
Longley told police the girl had been acting strangely for about a month and a half, suffering three seizures, hitting herself in her sleep and pulling out her own hair.
"(Longley) said that they found that she was pulling it out herself, and so they elected to shave her hair off," Berube wrote in the affidavit.
At the hospital, Sullivan showed Berube, doctors, and case workers the video as well as pictures of the girl's injuries. The video showed the little girl "tapping" on herself, her hands curled but "not tightly fisted," wrote Berube, who said it didn't look as if she were hitting herself with enough force to cause any marks. He also looked at several photographs. Some showed the toddler with bloodied face and nostrils.
According to the affidavit, Sullivan and Longley said they were afraid to take the girl to the hospital without proof the girl was causing her own injuries. They were worried she would be taken away from Longley, and Sullivan's son could be taken from her. Both Longley and Sullivan have files with child protective services, according to court files.
They said admitted to making the tape. They said she had been doing these things in her sleep but after watching her for several nights, and not seeing the behavior repeated, they decided to recreate what they said they saw.
Sullivan told police the child had hit her head on a stump. The following day she fell on the floor and was non-responsive. Sullivan said she thought the girl was dead or dying, so she slapped her face, shook her hard by the shoulders and then bounced her on her knee to try to revive her. But she later told police that the toddler fell backward and hit her head on a piece of furniture. When she had a seizure, Sullivan told police she slapped and shook her.
According to Claremont District Court records Longley does not have a criminal record. Sullivan was arrested for assault in June for allegedly scratching Longley during a fight, according to court records.
Neither Longley nor Sullivan could be reached for comment.
From: http://theunionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Police%3a+Couple+urged+toddler+to+hit+herself+on+video&articleId=35cb3258-b0c7-476e-aa77-409400567cdd#commentspanel
Union Leader Correspondent
Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2010
CLAREMONT – A couple allegedly coerced a severely abused toddler to hit and poke herself on video to make it look as if she had caused her own injuries, according to police and prosecutors.
Laura Sullivan, 23, of Claremont, and Jason Longley, 22, of Acworth, are each facing a felony charge of falsifying evidence. Police and child welfare workers are still trying to determine who injured the child, Sullivan County Attorney Marc Hathaway said.
State Trooper Eric Berube was able to enhance the sound on the tape, and said he could hear Sullivan's voice in the background, giving the 2-year-old instructions that included, "hit yourself," "faster," and "poke your eyes."
Sullivan and Longley initially showed the tape at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, where the girl was taken with "bleeding in her eyes and brain, a severe skin infection on her face, and strange bruising patterns," according to Berube's arrest affidavit. Doctors found six blood clots behind her eyes. One nurse described the bleeding in the girl's brain as consistent with being shaken.
Both Sullivan and Longley denied hurting the girl, according to court records.
Longley told police the girl had been acting strangely for about a month and a half, suffering three seizures, hitting herself in her sleep and pulling out her own hair.
"(Longley) said that they found that she was pulling it out herself, and so they elected to shave her hair off," Berube wrote in the affidavit.
At the hospital, Sullivan showed Berube, doctors, and case workers the video as well as pictures of the girl's injuries. The video showed the little girl "tapping" on herself, her hands curled but "not tightly fisted," wrote Berube, who said it didn't look as if she were hitting herself with enough force to cause any marks. He also looked at several photographs. Some showed the toddler with bloodied face and nostrils.
According to the affidavit, Sullivan and Longley said they were afraid to take the girl to the hospital without proof the girl was causing her own injuries. They were worried she would be taken away from Longley, and Sullivan's son could be taken from her. Both Longley and Sullivan have files with child protective services, according to court files.
They said admitted to making the tape. They said she had been doing these things in her sleep but after watching her for several nights, and not seeing the behavior repeated, they decided to recreate what they said they saw.
Sullivan told police the child had hit her head on a stump. The following day she fell on the floor and was non-responsive. Sullivan said she thought the girl was dead or dying, so she slapped her face, shook her hard by the shoulders and then bounced her on her knee to try to revive her. But she later told police that the toddler fell backward and hit her head on a piece of furniture. When she had a seizure, Sullivan told police she slapped and shook her.
According to Claremont District Court records Longley does not have a criminal record. Sullivan was arrested for assault in June for allegedly scratching Longley during a fight, according to court records.
Neither Longley nor Sullivan could be reached for comment.
From: http://theunionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Police%3a+Couple+urged+toddler+to+hit+herself+on+video&articleId=35cb3258-b0c7-476e-aa77-409400567cdd#commentspanel
Australian drivers speed to see motorcycle ghost
By QMI Agency
Last Updated: August 18, 2010 10:17am
Hit 111 m.p.h. and the ghost of a dead motorcyclist will appear in your rear-view mirror. At least that's what young people in a small Australian town believe, and are increasingly endangering their lives to prove.
The Daily Telegraph reports young drivers along Lemon Tree Passage Rd. — between New Castle and Sydney — are speeding to conjure the ghost of a motorcyclist who pursues dangerous drivers.
"It's alleged that if you drive at speed in a manner dangerous, a bright white light comes in behind you and that's what they are calling the Lemon Tree Passage ghost,” a police spokeswoman told the Daily Telegraph.
Footage on YouTube chronicles the various attempts, and several videos do show a bright white light in pursuit of the offending vehicle, though whether it's a motorcycle is impossible to determine.
"That's the ghost," one girl can be heard saying in a video posted to YouTube. "That's like a motorbike!"
Ghost or not, though, police are asking the young motorists to slow down.
"We want speeding drivers to know that the only bright light they'll be seeing in their rear windows will be the red and blue lights of a police car,” the police spokeswoman told the Daily Telegraph.
Approximately a dozen videos purporting to show the ghost have been posted to YouTube over the past year.
From: http://www.edmontonsun.com/news/weird/2010/08/18/15061831.html
Last Updated: August 18, 2010 10:17am
Hit 111 m.p.h. and the ghost of a dead motorcyclist will appear in your rear-view mirror. At least that's what young people in a small Australian town believe, and are increasingly endangering their lives to prove.
The Daily Telegraph reports young drivers along Lemon Tree Passage Rd. — between New Castle and Sydney — are speeding to conjure the ghost of a motorcyclist who pursues dangerous drivers.
"It's alleged that if you drive at speed in a manner dangerous, a bright white light comes in behind you and that's what they are calling the Lemon Tree Passage ghost,” a police spokeswoman told the Daily Telegraph.
Footage on YouTube chronicles the various attempts, and several videos do show a bright white light in pursuit of the offending vehicle, though whether it's a motorcycle is impossible to determine.
"That's the ghost," one girl can be heard saying in a video posted to YouTube. "That's like a motorbike!"
Ghost or not, though, police are asking the young motorists to slow down.
"We want speeding drivers to know that the only bright light they'll be seeing in their rear windows will be the red and blue lights of a police car,” the police spokeswoman told the Daily Telegraph.
Approximately a dozen videos purporting to show the ghost have been posted to YouTube over the past year.
From: http://www.edmontonsun.com/news/weird/2010/08/18/15061831.html
Dozens hurt as bull goes on rampage through crowd
August 19, 2010 -- Updated 1154 GMT (1954 HKT)
(CNN) -- A bull leapt out of a bullfighting arena in Spain and rampaged through the crowd, injuring at least 30 people, local media reported.
A video shown on Spanish television showed the bull charging through the crowded stands, knocking over spectators, including children, at an arena in the northern town of Tafalla on Wednesday evening.
Diario de Navarra newspaper reported that two people were admitted to hospital: a 10-year-old child who was trampled and a 47-year-old who was gored by the bull.
The bull weighed more than 500 kilograms (1,110lb), and 3,500 were packed into the arena for the fight, according to the newspaper.
Eventually employees of the bullring managed to control and kill the bull.
From: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/08/19/spain.bull.rampage/index.html?iref=NS1#fbid=O_LyZpCfUD8&wom=false
(CNN) -- A bull leapt out of a bullfighting arena in Spain and rampaged through the crowd, injuring at least 30 people, local media reported.
A video shown on Spanish television showed the bull charging through the crowded stands, knocking over spectators, including children, at an arena in the northern town of Tafalla on Wednesday evening.
Diario de Navarra newspaper reported that two people were admitted to hospital: a 10-year-old child who was trampled and a 47-year-old who was gored by the bull.
The bull weighed more than 500 kilograms (1,110lb), and 3,500 were packed into the arena for the fight, according to the newspaper.
Eventually employees of the bullring managed to control and kill the bull.
From: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/08/19/spain.bull.rampage/index.html?iref=NS1#fbid=O_LyZpCfUD8&wom=false
Paris teens charged in bare-breasted robberies
By the CNN Wire Staff
August 18, 2010 -- Updated 2054 GMT (0454 HKT)
Paris, France (CNN) -- French police believe they've gotten to the bottom of a series of robberies in which teenage girls exposed their breasts to distract men withdrawing money from Paris cash machines.
Two teenagers have been charged with three hold-ups, but they will be prosecuted as juveniles since they are under 18, according to the Paris prosecutor's office.
Police say that on August 7, a man inserted a card into a cash machine in central Paris to withdraw money when two young females approached him and asked for money. The girls waved a newspaper at the man in an attempt to distract him, but the technique didn't work.
So the girls tried another strategy: One of them bared her breasts and put her hand on the man's genitals while the other took the opportunity to withdraw 300 euros, police said.
The two teenagers also are accused of stealing a total of 400 euros in two other Paris ATM robberies on August 17, the prosecutor's office said.
From: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/08/18/france.breast.robbery/index.html#fbid=O_LyZpCfUD8&wom=false
August 18, 2010 -- Updated 2054 GMT (0454 HKT)
Paris, France (CNN) -- French police believe they've gotten to the bottom of a series of robberies in which teenage girls exposed their breasts to distract men withdrawing money from Paris cash machines.
Two teenagers have been charged with three hold-ups, but they will be prosecuted as juveniles since they are under 18, according to the Paris prosecutor's office.
Police say that on August 7, a man inserted a card into a cash machine in central Paris to withdraw money when two young females approached him and asked for money. The girls waved a newspaper at the man in an attempt to distract him, but the technique didn't work.
So the girls tried another strategy: One of them bared her breasts and put her hand on the man's genitals while the other took the opportunity to withdraw 300 euros, police said.
The two teenagers also are accused of stealing a total of 400 euros in two other Paris ATM robberies on August 17, the prosecutor's office said.
From: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/08/18/france.breast.robbery/index.html#fbid=O_LyZpCfUD8&wom=false
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University
Buddhist university that allows English-language speakers the opportunity to study with monks in Thailand
From: http://atlasobscura.com/place/mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya-university
One of the two public Buddhist universities in Thailand, Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, is located in the stunning Wat Mahathat Yuwarajarangsarit Rajaworamahavihara in Bangkok. Founded in 1887 by King Chulalongkorn, the university was established as a place of higher learning for Buddhist monks and laypeople interested in Buddhist Studies alike. It began offering classes to a diverse group of students two years later and has continued to offer them ever since, becoming public by a bill passed in 1997.
In addition to the main campus, Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University has extension campuses in more than a dozen provinces around Thailand. They offers international programs in Chinese Buddhism, Buddhism and Management, and Buddhist Leadership for those pursing a Bachelor's Degree. More advanced programs are offered in Mahayana Buddhism, Buddhist Studies, and Philosophy. The latter two are conducted in English. A Ph.D. program is also available to English-speaking students.
Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya is one of the primary organizers for the United Nations Day of Vesak Celebrations and also hosts the Secretariat for the International Association of Buddhist Universities.
From: http://atlasobscura.com/place/mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya-university
Doctor freezes man's skull, saves his life
From: NewsCore
August 18, 2010 10:10AM
--Teen shatters his skull in accident
--Doctors do "last ditch effort" surgery
--Teen survives, undergoing therapy
A UTAH man had a 90 to 95 percent chance of dying after shattering his skull in more than 10 places until a neurosurgeon removed both sides of his head and froze it.
Kyle Johnson’s brain swelled uncontrollably after he fell off a longboard - essentially a surfboard on wheels - while travelling about 60km/h.
Dr Blake Welling of McKay-Dee Hospital in Utah decided to perform the risky surgery.
“We elected to take Kyle to surgery and remove each side of his head,” Dr Welling told FOXNews.com.
“It’s called a bilateral decompressive craniectomy. It’s something that neurosurgeons do as a last ditch effort.
“Most neurosurgeons do a decompressive craniectomy on one side of the head, where the trauma was.
“In this case, Kyle had such a global brain injury that we needed to take both sides of his head off, and you just leave a small strip of bone right down the middle.”
Dr Welling and his team removed Mr Johnson’s fractured skull, put it back together with micro-screws and plates, and then put it in a freezer to prevent the bone from becoming brittle.
Mr Johnson was placed in a drug-induced coma for about three weeks while doctors monitored his brain swelling. After the swelling went down, Dr Welling put the bone flaps back into place, and it took Mr Johnson about another week to wake up.
“I wasn’t quite sure what we were going to be left with,” Dr Welling said.
“When people have injuries like this I thought he may have a significant disability in terms of having to talk and walk again and learning his cognitive function. But low and behold, Kyle woke up and his lights gradually went back on.”
Dr Welling said by all purposes, Mr Johnson should have died.
“He had a very high mortality rate,” he said.
“I told him sometimes we’re left with really terrible results, but in your case you have a guardian angel, you have something to live for."
Although Mr Johnson did not require any real physical therapy, he is currently undergoing cognitive therapy to help with memory loss and things like multi-tasking.
“It’s something that I do not have the ability to do right now,” he said.
“If you put two color crayons in front of me, say blue and green, I really cannot think of both crayons. I can only think of one at a time and even that is a struggle. So, for therapy, we’ve been doing more mind exercises if you will.”
Now, almost 10 weeks after the accident, Mr Johnson is looking forward to the future, but he is not sure if he will ever get back on his longboard.
"It's kind of an eerie type of feeling - so I don't know if I will ever get back to longboarding - but snowboarding for sure," he said.
From: http://www.news.com.au/technology/doctor-freezes-mans-skull-saves-his-life/story-e6frfro0-1225906616620
'Monster' kept daughter's body in freezer - prosecutor
SANTA ANA, California - A man who acknowledged keeping the body of his daughter in a freezer is a "monster" and should be found guilty of first-degree murder, prosecutors said today during closing arguments at the trial.
A public defender representing Clarence Butterfield countered there wasn't enough evidence to prove the defendant shot his daughter Rebekah.
The 57-year-old carpenter is charged with murder, torture, mayhem and assault with a firearm. He could face life in prison without a chance of parole if convicted.
Prosecutors allege Butterfield hogtied his daughter and shot her seven times in the leg, foot, knee and side of her head to torture her then stuffed her into the freezer where she suffocated.
Butterfield testified that he found Rebekah dead when he returned home from running errands on the day after Christmas in 2006.
He said he put her in the freezer because he thought no one would believe he was innocent and also believed she would be resurrected.
Deputy District Attorney Ebrahim Baytieh called Butterfield "Mr. Lies A Lot" and told the jury that in 2003 Butterfield hogtied his ex-wife Catherine and put her in a closet. Another time, he put her in a bathtub, Baytieh said.
In addition, Rebekah suffered a bullet wound in May 2006, the prosecutor said.
"When Catherine was gone, it was Rebekah's turn," Baytieh said. "When I tell you there's a monster at the end of this table, there's a monster at the end of this table."
Deputy Public Defender Lisa Eyanson argued that an autopsy could not determine when Rebekah was shot or if she suffocated in the freezer because her body was badly decomposed when tow company workers found it in October 2008.
Butterfield didn't have a plan involving his daughter, Eyanson argued.
"She was shot or hurt and it was - oh my gosh, what do I do? That does not show premeditation, it shows panic," the lawyer said. "Placing the body in the freezer - that's an afterthought."
Eyanson argued that if Catherine Butterfield thought her ex-husband was such a monster, she wouldn't have left Rebekah or her son in his care.
From: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/crime/news/article.cfm?c_id=30&objectid=10667004
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Australian surfer killed by shark named
An Australian surfer whose leg was "torn to shreds" by a great white shark has been named.
Published: 11:27AM BST 17 Aug 2010
Nicholas Edwards, a 31-year-old father-of-two from Busselton, south of Perth, went into cardiac arrest following the attack on a west Australian beach close to the popular tourist region of Margaret River.
Other surfers came to his aid in an attempt to massage his heart while waiting for an ambulance, but he was declared dead shortly after arriving at hospital.
Witnesses told the West Australian newspaper that the shark was "massive" and had bitten his surfboard in half, indicating that it was a great white.
Bob Alder, a local resident, who applied CPR to Edwards, told Perth Now: "We ran down and found him on the rocks.
"We pulled him up on the shore and gave him CPR.
"He was unconscious and as white as a sheet but we got some colour back into him".
Eddie Kilgallon, another surfer, said he and others wrapped a jumped round Edwards' legs.
"I was holding what was left of his leg together. The bottom half of his thigh was exposed and ripped open. Half of his calf musicle was also torn to shreds", he said.
Sharks are a common feature of Australian waters but fatal attacks are rare.
In December 2008, a snorkeller died after being attacked by a large shark off the Western Australia coast.
In 2004 surfer Brad Smith died after being attacked by a great white at a beach called Lefthanders, also in Gracetown.
From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/7949820/Australian-surfer-killed-by-shark-named.html
Published: 11:27AM BST 17 Aug 2010
Nicholas Edwards, a 31-year-old father-of-two from Busselton, south of Perth, went into cardiac arrest following the attack on a west Australian beach close to the popular tourist region of Margaret River.
Other surfers came to his aid in an attempt to massage his heart while waiting for an ambulance, but he was declared dead shortly after arriving at hospital.
Witnesses told the West Australian newspaper that the shark was "massive" and had bitten his surfboard in half, indicating that it was a great white.
Bob Alder, a local resident, who applied CPR to Edwards, told Perth Now: "We ran down and found him on the rocks.
"We pulled him up on the shore and gave him CPR.
"He was unconscious and as white as a sheet but we got some colour back into him".
Eddie Kilgallon, another surfer, said he and others wrapped a jumped round Edwards' legs.
"I was holding what was left of his leg together. The bottom half of his thigh was exposed and ripped open. Half of his calf musicle was also torn to shreds", he said.
Sharks are a common feature of Australian waters but fatal attacks are rare.
In December 2008, a snorkeller died after being attacked by a large shark off the Western Australia coast.
In 2004 surfer Brad Smith died after being attacked by a great white at a beach called Lefthanders, also in Gracetown.
From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/7949820/Australian-surfer-killed-by-shark-named.html
Fla. mom arrested after pic of baby with bong
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
KEYSTONE HEIGHTS, Fla. -- A central Florida mom who thought it would be funny to post a picture of her baby with a bong on her Facebook page has been arrested.
Nineteen-year-old Rachel Stieringer was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia. A Texas resident called Florida's abuse hot line after seeing the picture online of the baby posing with his face in the bong.
Clay County Sheriff's deputies say Stieringer turned herself in July 29 and was released on $502 bond.
A spokesman for the Department of Children and Families said Monday the baby had no injuries and drug tests came back negative.
A message could not be left at Stieringer's home Tuesday morning. The phone number was busy on several attempts.
From: http://www.baynews9.com/article/news/ap/august/138219/Fla-mom-arrested-after-pic-of-baby-with-bong
KEYSTONE HEIGHTS, Fla. -- A central Florida mom who thought it would be funny to post a picture of her baby with a bong on her Facebook page has been arrested.
Nineteen-year-old Rachel Stieringer was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia. A Texas resident called Florida's abuse hot line after seeing the picture online of the baby posing with his face in the bong.
Clay County Sheriff's deputies say Stieringer turned herself in July 29 and was released on $502 bond.
A spokesman for the Department of Children and Families said Monday the baby had no injuries and drug tests came back negative.
A message could not be left at Stieringer's home Tuesday morning. The phone number was busy on several attempts.
From: http://www.baynews9.com/article/news/ap/august/138219/Fla-mom-arrested-after-pic-of-baby-with-bong
Family of woman killed in botched drug raid to receive $4.9 million
August 16, 2010 -- Updated 2219 GMT (0619 HKT)
Atlanta, Georgia (CNN) -- The city of Atlanta will pay $4.9 million to the family of Kathryn Johnston, a 92-year-old woman killed in a botched November 2006 drug raid, Mayor Kasim Reed's office announced Monday.
Johnston was shot to death by narcotics officers conducting a "no-knock" warrant. Investigators later determined the raid was based on falsified paperwork stating that illegal drugs were present in the home.
The incident prompted a major overhaul of the Atlanta police drug unit, and three former police officers were sentenced to prison terms for a cover-up that ensued.
Johnston's family will receive $2.9 million sometime in fiscal 2011, the city said, with the remaining $2 million to be paid in fiscal 2012, on or before August 15, 2011.
The payment represents the settlement of a lawsuit filed against the city by Sarah Dozier, Johnston's niece, Reed's office said in a statement. Initially filed in state court, the suit was moved to federal court, where a judge ordered the parties to mediation.
As the search warrant was being executed November 21, 2006, at Johnston's home, she fired at officers with an old pistol, apparently believing her home was being broken into. Six officers returned fire. Johnston's one shot went through her front door and over the officers' heads. They responded with 39 shots, hitting the elderly woman five times.
"The resolution of this case is an important step in the healing process for the city and its residents," Reed said in the statement. "As a result of the incident, several police officers were indicted in federal and state court on charges and were later convicted and sentenced for their actions. In addition, the narcotics unit of the Atlanta Police Department was completely reorganized, which included changes in policy and personnel."
Last year, former officer Jason Smith was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, while former officers Greg Junnier and Arthur Tesler were sentenced to six and five years, respectively.
All three men pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to violate civil rights resulting in death. Smith and Junnier also pleaded guilty to state charges of voluntary manslaughter and making false statements, and Smith admitted to planting bags of marijuana in Johnston's home after her death.
U.S. District Judge Julie Carnes ordered the three to split Johnston's funeral costs of $8,180, and to serve three years of supervised release after they complete their prison terms.
"I pray daily for Ms. Johnston," Smith said at the sentencing hearing, according to CNN affiliate WXIA-TV. "I also pray other officers in Atlanta will have the moral fortitude I didn't have."
Tesler was convicted on one state count of making false statements after filling out an affidavit saying that an informant had purchased crack cocaine at Johnston's home, in a crime-plagued neighborhood near downtown Atlanta.
The informant, however, denied ever having been to Johnston's home, leading to probes by federal and state authorities as well as the breakup and reorganization of the narcotics unit.
Tesler's state conviction was reversed on appeal. According to their plea agreements, Junnier and Smith will serve their state sentences concurrently with the federal sentence.
Shortly after the probe began, Junnier began cooperating with authorities, providing "valuable assistance in the investigation and prosecution of Smith and Tesler," according to a statement issued last year by federal prosecutors. Smith also cooperated to a lesser extent, and both men's sentences were reduced in exchange for their cooperation.
Prosecutors have said that officers regularly presented false information to obtain warrants and that they cut corners to make more time for lucrative side jobs providing additional security to businesses, often while on duty, and receiving cash payments.
The investigation into the botched raid also led to guilty pleas from the police sergeant in charge of the narcotics unit and another officer who admitted to extortion, authorities said.
From: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/08/16/georgia.botched.raid/index.html?hpt=T1#fbid=O_LyZpCfUD8&wom=false
Boy robbed, stabbed in Winnipeg
By QMI Agency
August 17, 2010
WINNIPEG - A 13-year-old boy was robbed of his clothing and other items and then stabbed in the back during a violent incident in Winnipeg on Monday afternoon.
Police said the victim was riding his bicycle with friends in an alley near Keewatin Street and Alexander Avenue when he was confronted by a male about 2 p.m.
The suspect physically assaulted and pushed the boy to the ground, and swiped several possessions, including the victim’s shoes, hat, shirt, jewelry and keys.
Police said the male then stabbed the boy in the upper body and fled.
The boy went to a nearby residence for help. He was taken to a Winnipeg hospital in stable condition.
One person was taken into custody but no charges had been laid by late Monday afternoon, police said.
From: http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Crime/2010/08/16/15047146.html
August 17, 2010
WINNIPEG - A 13-year-old boy was robbed of his clothing and other items and then stabbed in the back during a violent incident in Winnipeg on Monday afternoon.
Police said the victim was riding his bicycle with friends in an alley near Keewatin Street and Alexander Avenue when he was confronted by a male about 2 p.m.
The suspect physically assaulted and pushed the boy to the ground, and swiped several possessions, including the victim’s shoes, hat, shirt, jewelry and keys.
Police said the male then stabbed the boy in the upper body and fled.
The boy went to a nearby residence for help. He was taken to a Winnipeg hospital in stable condition.
One person was taken into custody but no charges had been laid by late Monday afternoon, police said.
From: http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Crime/2010/08/16/15047146.html
Family brawl sparks dog attack in Calgary
By KATIE SCHNEIDER, QMI AGENCY
August 16, 2010
CALGARY - Three people were taken to hospital with bite wounds after the family dog attacked them during a brawl Sunday afternoon in Calgary.
Mark Travadi was walking home from the store about 2:30 p.m. when he saw the door to his Pinemont Rd. N.E. house fly open, his brother, sister and nephew spill out to the lawn and begin fighting.
Before he knew it, his one-and-a-half-year-old American Staffordshire Terrier, a pitbull-type breed, started attacking them one by one.
Travadi said his sister, Lauren Henault, threw a backpack at her 14-year-old son, Lennon Henault, and the dog, named Alphie, responded aggressively, he believes defensively.
He intervened and took Alphie into the garage where he then bit his brother, Basil Travadi, on the arm.
“He’s never responded well to violence but it is a surprise he would take it to this level,” Travadi said.
“I’ve never seen him behave like that.
“Once he gets mad, it’s hard to stop him.”
Previously, a cop called to the house to break up a fight between him and his brother had to pull a gun on the dog when he became aggressive, Travadi said.
While Alphie is usually very well behaved, trained, and walked often, he acts up when people are aggressive, he said.
“I love the fact that he’s territorial but I can’t have a dog I can’t trust,” he said.
“I can’t control him when people are violent and I’m not there.
“It’s very inappropriate, I’m embarrassed.”
The dog first latched onto his nephew’s shoe, biting into his foot, before nipping his sister’s thigh.
“He’ll bite the person that he loves,” he said referring to the teen.
Paramedics took the three to hospital in stable condition and bylaw officers seized the dog.
“I’m a dog lover, he’s my first dog,” he said.
“It hurts like hell to lose a dog but people come before animals.
“I shouldn’t have left him unattended.”
The dog, which Bill Bruce, director of animal and bylaw services said has never been a problem before, will be assessed and the matter investigated.
Bruce said it’s not uncommon for dogs to become aggressive during a chaotic situation.
“They can’t stand disorder in the pack,” he said.
Neighbour Craig Northup said he saw a family melee break out that looked like it was a fight over the dog.
“I heard yelling and screaming and then louder yelling and screaming and ‘he’s taking the dog, he’s taking the dog’,” he said.
“One guy was trying to take the dog and the dog became confused.
“It’s not even the dog’s fault — everyone was yelling.”
From: http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2010/08/15/15035361.html
August 16, 2010
CALGARY - Three people were taken to hospital with bite wounds after the family dog attacked them during a brawl Sunday afternoon in Calgary.
Mark Travadi was walking home from the store about 2:30 p.m. when he saw the door to his Pinemont Rd. N.E. house fly open, his brother, sister and nephew spill out to the lawn and begin fighting.
Before he knew it, his one-and-a-half-year-old American Staffordshire Terrier, a pitbull-type breed, started attacking them one by one.
Travadi said his sister, Lauren Henault, threw a backpack at her 14-year-old son, Lennon Henault, and the dog, named Alphie, responded aggressively, he believes defensively.
He intervened and took Alphie into the garage where he then bit his brother, Basil Travadi, on the arm.
“He’s never responded well to violence but it is a surprise he would take it to this level,” Travadi said.
“I’ve never seen him behave like that.
“Once he gets mad, it’s hard to stop him.”
Previously, a cop called to the house to break up a fight between him and his brother had to pull a gun on the dog when he became aggressive, Travadi said.
While Alphie is usually very well behaved, trained, and walked often, he acts up when people are aggressive, he said.
“I love the fact that he’s territorial but I can’t have a dog I can’t trust,” he said.
“I can’t control him when people are violent and I’m not there.
“It’s very inappropriate, I’m embarrassed.”
The dog first latched onto his nephew’s shoe, biting into his foot, before nipping his sister’s thigh.
“He’ll bite the person that he loves,” he said referring to the teen.
Paramedics took the three to hospital in stable condition and bylaw officers seized the dog.
“I’m a dog lover, he’s my first dog,” he said.
“It hurts like hell to lose a dog but people come before animals.
“I shouldn’t have left him unattended.”
The dog, which Bill Bruce, director of animal and bylaw services said has never been a problem before, will be assessed and the matter investigated.
Bruce said it’s not uncommon for dogs to become aggressive during a chaotic situation.
“They can’t stand disorder in the pack,” he said.
Neighbour Craig Northup said he saw a family melee break out that looked like it was a fight over the dog.
“I heard yelling and screaming and then louder yelling and screaming and ‘he’s taking the dog, he’s taking the dog’,” he said.
“One guy was trying to take the dog and the dog became confused.
“It’s not even the dog’s fault — everyone was yelling.”
From: http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2010/08/15/15035361.html
Mother in custody after 2 children found dead in submerged car
By the CNN Wire Staff
August 17, 2010 -- Updated 1252 GMT (2052 HKT)
(CNN) -- In a case a sheriff says has "a stench of foul play," two children were found dead in a South Carolina river, and police have arrested their mother.
Shaquan Duley, 29, faces charges of leaving the scene of an accident, authorities said.
The bodies of her two sons, ages 1 and 2, were found by divers in her Chrysler sedan in the Edisto River near a boat landing after state troopers responded to a report of a car accident early Monday. The bodies were sent to the county coroner for autopsies.
It wasn't immediately known whether Duley had retained an attorney.
Orangeburg County Sheriff Larry Williams said he couldn't confirm reports that the key was still in the car's ignition, but he said the car apparently was in neutral.
He added Duley didn't appear wet, saying, "She didn't have any evidence that she had been submerged in the water."
The car went off the boat ramp that is about 10 yards off the road's shoulder and sits at a 90-degree angle to the road.
Duley told authorities she was driving down the road and lost control of the vehicle where the boat ramp was, Williams told HLN's Nancy Grace. However, he added, "There's no evidence that she ran off the road at any time."
Duley walked nearly a mile before calling for help, telling authorities she flagged down a motorist to borrow a cell phone to summon help, Williams said. Police are trying to track down that individual.
Duley was questioned "on and off" Monday afternoon and was expected to be booked at the jail sometime in the evening, the sheriff said.
The boys' father, who doesn't live at the same residence as the children, has been interviewed by investigators, Williams said. The sheriff said he didn't know the father's whereabouts at the time of the incident.
Duley has a third child, a 5-year-old daughter, who was at the home of her maternal grandmother, where Duley lived with her children, he said.
The incident has similarities to a 1994 case, also in South Carolina. The bodies of Michael Daniel Smith, 3, and 14-month-old Alexander Tyler Smith were found in their mother's car, still strapped into their car seats, in John D. Long Lake in Union, South Carolina. Their mother, Susan Smith, was convicted on two counts of murder, but jurors opted to spare her the death penalty and she was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison.
The case inflamed racial tensions in Union, because Susan Smith claimed at first she had been carjacked by an African-American man. She stuck to that story for nine days, issuing tearful pleas for her sons' return on national media outlets, before confessing to authorities. Prosecutors alleged she killed her children after being rejected by a man she was dating who did not want children.
From: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/08/17/south.carolina.children.deaths/index.html?iref=NS1#fbid=O_LyZpCfUD8&wom=false
August 17, 2010 -- Updated 1252 GMT (2052 HKT)
(CNN) -- In a case a sheriff says has "a stench of foul play," two children were found dead in a South Carolina river, and police have arrested their mother.
Shaquan Duley, 29, faces charges of leaving the scene of an accident, authorities said.
The bodies of her two sons, ages 1 and 2, were found by divers in her Chrysler sedan in the Edisto River near a boat landing after state troopers responded to a report of a car accident early Monday. The bodies were sent to the county coroner for autopsies.
It wasn't immediately known whether Duley had retained an attorney.
Orangeburg County Sheriff Larry Williams said he couldn't confirm reports that the key was still in the car's ignition, but he said the car apparently was in neutral.
He added Duley didn't appear wet, saying, "She didn't have any evidence that she had been submerged in the water."
The car went off the boat ramp that is about 10 yards off the road's shoulder and sits at a 90-degree angle to the road.
Duley told authorities she was driving down the road and lost control of the vehicle where the boat ramp was, Williams told HLN's Nancy Grace. However, he added, "There's no evidence that she ran off the road at any time."
Duley walked nearly a mile before calling for help, telling authorities she flagged down a motorist to borrow a cell phone to summon help, Williams said. Police are trying to track down that individual.
Duley was questioned "on and off" Monday afternoon and was expected to be booked at the jail sometime in the evening, the sheriff said.
The boys' father, who doesn't live at the same residence as the children, has been interviewed by investigators, Williams said. The sheriff said he didn't know the father's whereabouts at the time of the incident.
Duley has a third child, a 5-year-old daughter, who was at the home of her maternal grandmother, where Duley lived with her children, he said.
The incident has similarities to a 1994 case, also in South Carolina. The bodies of Michael Daniel Smith, 3, and 14-month-old Alexander Tyler Smith were found in their mother's car, still strapped into their car seats, in John D. Long Lake in Union, South Carolina. Their mother, Susan Smith, was convicted on two counts of murder, but jurors opted to spare her the death penalty and she was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison.
The case inflamed racial tensions in Union, because Susan Smith claimed at first she had been carjacked by an African-American man. She stuck to that story for nine days, issuing tearful pleas for her sons' return on national media outlets, before confessing to authorities. Prosecutors alleged she killed her children after being rejected by a man she was dating who did not want children.
From: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/08/17/south.carolina.children.deaths/index.html?iref=NS1#fbid=O_LyZpCfUD8&wom=false
Remains of pregnant teen are found in Corona landfill
By Alexandra Zavis, Times Staff Writer
August 5, 2010|9:50 p.m.
After months of searching, Fontana police investigators found the remains of a missing pregnant teenager at a landfill in Corona, authorities said Thursday.
Anyssia Katherine Escamilla, 17, of Bloomington was identified through dental records, said Sandy Fatland, a spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County coroner's office.
Escamilla had been missing since May 11, when she did not return home from Bloomington High School, said Sgt. Billy Green, a Fontana Police Department spokesman.
Her boyfriend, Jesus Avitia Jr., 18, initially told investigators that Escamilla had killed herself at his Fontana home but he later admitted that he choked her and dumped her body in a trash can, Green said.
Avitia has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and is being held on $2-million bail. Prosecutors have not decided whether to seek the death penalty.
Search crews assisted by cadaver-sniffing dogs spent more than 70 days combing through two landfills in Rialto and Corona before finding the girl's remains Wednesday afternoon at the El Sobrante Landfill in Corona, Green said.
"The body was too decayed for us to make a positive identification by features alone," he said.
An autopsy was scheduled Thursday afternoon to determine the cause of death. Police also are investigating the motive.
The Associated Press reported that Avitia told investigators that he killed Escamilla after learning that she was pregnant and refused to have an abortion. He said he wanted to pursue a nursing career and was afraid a baby would derail his plans, Fontana Police Det. Shawn Hare told the Associated Press.
Escamilla had a 3-year-old son from a previous relationship.
From: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-missing-teen-20100805,0,3489470.story
Monday, August 16, 2010
Woman in suicide stand-off with police at Beachy Head after Ferrari-driving husband is found bludgeoned to death
Last updated at 3:01 PM on 16th August 2010
--Richard Challen discovered bludgeoned to death
--His wife Sally threatened to commit suicide off Beachy Head
--Neighbour: 'Challens split over his use of prostitutes'
A suicidal woman who was threatening to throw herself off Beachy Head allegedly told police she had bludgeoned her Ferrari-owning husband to death with a hammer.
The 56-year-old, who has been named as Sally Challen, was eventually talked down after a tense three-hour stand-off at the beauty spot which is also notorious as a suicide hotspot.
She allegedly killed her estranged husband, identified locally as Richard Challen, 61, at their former marital home in Claygate, Surrey, before driving 70 miles to the East Sussex site.
It is believed the couple were in the process of going through divorce proceedings and had split around a year ago. His body was discovered by officers on Sunday afternoon.
One neighbour, who wished to remain anonymous, said: 'They separated about a year ago and she moved just around the corner. The rumour was that he was seeing prostitutes and that is why she left him.
'They have two sons, the older one lived with Richard and the younger one lived with her.
'She had bought this new house with money she inherited from her mum.'
He added that he believed the couple had been experiencing financial difficulties.
Mr Challen was a car enthusiast who owned a £60,000 Ferrari Berlinetta and was given a 51-week suspended sentence in 2006 for fraud.
He told insurers he had been involved in a hit-and-run accident, but in fact had crashed the sports car while racing in Belgium.
Teams of police officers and chaplains were scrambled to the top of the 530ft cliff after Mrs Challen threatened to kill herself.
She was eventually escorted to safety from the cliff-edge before being arrested on suspicion of murder.
A murder investigation was launched by Surrey Police after they were called to the large, four-bedroom detached property in Ruxley Ridge just after 1pm yesterday and discovered the body.
Teams of forensic officers are searching the crime scene, which is on the same street where Rolling Stones rocker Ronnie Wood lives, for clues about the death.
A post-mortem examination to establish how Mr Challen died is scheduled to take place at the Royal Surrey County Hospital.
A spokesman for Surrey Police said: 'Surrey Police has launched a murder investigation after the body of a man was found at a property in Claygate.
'A 56 year-old woman from Claygate has been arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in police custody.'
Police negotiators were called to Beachy Head yesterday afternoon after receiving reports that Mrs Challen, was heading there.
They found her car in a car park at the notorious suicide spot, before finding her on the cliff face.
A spokesman for Sussex Police said: 'Officers and chaplains managed to escort a 56-year-old Surrey woman to safety from the cliff edge at Beachy Head, after talking to her for more than three hours on Sunday afternoon.
'Officers had gone to the area after a report that the woman might be making her way there, and found her car parked nearby.
'The woman, who was unhurt, was detained for a welfare assessment.'
Surrey Police officers arrested Mrs Challen at Eastbourne custody centre before she was taken back to Surrey for interview.
Detectives are appealing for any witnesses or anyone with information to come forward.
Mr Challen set up Westlake Garages in Richmond, Surrey, in 1986, before selling it in 2008.
The new owner of Westlake Garages, Paul Arulndran, 37, described Mr Challen as 'a good bloke'.
'He said he and his wife had split up around a year ago and they were going through the process of a divorce,' he said.
'They were not living together.
'I bought the business off him in 2008 because he said he was retiring. He still used to come in regularly though to get his mail and check how things were going.
'He was a very, very nice guy and very straightforward. I am in complete shock.'
Mr Arulndran said Mr Challen last visited the garage a month ago.
A friend of the couple, who did not wish to be named, said: 'I had known them for about 20 years. It's too early to say much, it's all still sinking in, we're just in shock now.'
'We lost touch over the last couple of years. They used to visit us and came to our house for dinner. I knew they weren't getting along, I knew they had separated, but I didn't expect that sort of thing to happen.
'We knew them on a social level, we had dinner with them at their house or our house. My daughter knew their children, but they weren't close friends, it was just through us.
'She was extremely lonely after she moved, but I had heard they were possibly getting back together again so I can only assume something went terribly wrong.'
From: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1303481/Woman-suicide-stand-Beachy-Head-husband-bludgeoned-death.html
Ministry of Sound nightclub killer jailed for life
A man who ran over a clubber following a row at the Ministry of Sound nightclub in south London has been jailed for life for murder.
Gary Johnson, 25, of Sydenham, was partially decapitated when Ranjit Nankani's car hit him in Elephant and Castle in August 2009.
Nankani, 30, of Croydon, who was found guilty of murder, was then shot by the victim's friend Dwayne McPherson.
At the Old Bailey, Nankani was ordered to serve a minimum term of 18 years.
As he was led away from the court room following the sentencing Nankani shouted: "They were gang members and that gun is still out there.
"I'm sorry for the death of Mr Johnson."
McPherson, 28, also of Sydenham, who was convicted of the attempted murder of Nankani, is due to be sentenced on 10 September.
The jury heard that Nankani and his friends were thrown out of the club after a row with Mr Johnson and his friends.
The row allegedly began after Nankani stepped on the victim's toe.
Judge Stephen Kramer told Nankani: "What you did must have involved a degree of premeditation.
"It was a targeted revenge attack on a crowded public street when people were leaving the club to go home.
"You waited and you used your vehicle as a lethal weapon in the streets."
Following the sentencing, Mr Johnson's mother Joyce said: "Eighteen years is not enough. I will never see Gary, Skye (the victim's daughter) will never know her dad.
"So 18 years, what is that, can somebody tell me what is that to life? He will still breathe, he is still breathing, he is very blessed."
After leaving the nightclub, Nankani waited for the father-of-one in his 4x4 vehicle on the pavement opposite the club in Gaunt Street before running him over.
The force of the impact threw the victim into the air and he was then carried along on the bonnet and killed instantly when he was partially decapitated as the car struck a wall.
As the vehicle crashed into parked cars, Nankani was trapped inside and McPherson ran towards the vehicle and fired four shots "in revenge" before running off from the scene. One bullet hit the killer.
The jury heard Nankani was at twice the drink-driving limit and had consumed champagne and brandy that night.
The court was told that following the row in the club, someone may have had a gun on them and threatened Nankani with it.
The judge told Nankani: "One witness described you as being raging mad, doubtless at what you felt to be the unfair way you and your friends had been treated.
"What you did was not, as you contended, an accident. The jury have found that your driving was a deliberate, targeted revenge on Gary Johnson."
Det Ch Insp Mark Dunne said: "There were large amounts of people outside the club at the time that witnessed the horrific death of Gary Johnson and they must have been terrified to hear and see the gun shots.
"Due to a petty argument, these men made choices that have changed their lives forever and a man has tragically lost his life."
From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-10984673
Woman scratches swastika on drunk man's buttocks
2010-08-13 14:20:00
Last Updated: 2010-08-13 14:30:48
Auckland: A woman was found guilty of stomping on a drunk man and scratching a swastika with a screwdriver on his buttocks after a row in a bar in New Zealand.
Briana Rose Murray, 21, was sentenced to 16 months in jail for her role in the attack in Christchurch in August 2009, the Herald Sun reported on Friday.
At a drinking session in a bar, Murray and two unidentified people pulled the 23-year-old man to the floor and stomped on his head up to 20 times, the Queenstown district court was told.
The victim also suffered a swollen jaw, chipped teeth, cuts, blurred vision and psychological damage, the court heard.
From: http://sify.com/news/woman-scratches-swastika-on-drunk-man-s-buttocks-news-international-kinoucdidib.html
Last Updated: 2010-08-13 14:30:48
Auckland: A woman was found guilty of stomping on a drunk man and scratching a swastika with a screwdriver on his buttocks after a row in a bar in New Zealand.
Briana Rose Murray, 21, was sentenced to 16 months in jail for her role in the attack in Christchurch in August 2009, the Herald Sun reported on Friday.
At a drinking session in a bar, Murray and two unidentified people pulled the 23-year-old man to the floor and stomped on his head up to 20 times, the Queenstown district court was told.
The victim also suffered a swollen jaw, chipped teeth, cuts, blurred vision and psychological damage, the court heard.
From: http://sify.com/news/woman-scratches-swastika-on-drunk-man-s-buttocks-news-international-kinoucdidib.html
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Mystery Train (1989)
Mystery Train is a 1989 independent anthology film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch and set in Memphis, Tennessee. The film comprises a triptych of stories involving foreign protagonists unfolding over the course of the same night. "Far From Yokohama" features a Japanese couple (played by Youki Kudoh and Masatoshi Nagase) on a blues pilgrimage, "A Ghost" focuses on an Italian widow (Nicoletta Braschi) stranded in the city overnight, and "Lost In Space" follows the misadventure of a newly single and unemployed Englishman (Joe Strummer) and his companions (Rick Aviles and Steve Buscemi). They are linked by a run-down flophouse overseen by a night clerk (played by Screamin' Jay Hawkins) and his dishevelled bellboy (Cinqué Lee), a scene featuring Elvis Presley's "Blue Moon", and a gunshot.
The starting point for the script was the ensemble cast of friends and previous collaborators Jarmusch had conceived characters for, while the tripartite formal structure of the film was inspired by his study of literary forms. Cinematographer Robby Müller and musician John Lurie were among the many contributors who had been involved in earlier Jarmusch projects and returned to work on the film. Mystery Train's US$2.8 million budget (financed by Japanese conglomerate JVC) was considerable compared to what the director had enjoyed before, and allowed him the freedom to rehearse many unscripted background scenes. It was the first of Jarmusch's feature films to depart from his trademark black-and-white photography, though the use of color was tightly controlled to conform with the director's intuitive sense of the film's aesthetic.
Mystery Train was released theatrically by Orion Classics under a restricted rating in the United States, where it grossed over $1.5 million. It enjoyed critical acclaim on the film festival circuit, and like the director's earlier films premiered at the New York Film Festival and was shown in competition at Cannes, where Jarmusch was awarded the Best Artistic Achievement Award. The film was also shown in the Edinburgh, London, Midnight Sun, Telluride, and Toronto film festivals, and was nominated in six categories at the Independent Spirit Awards. Critical reaction was overwhelmingly positive, with reviewers praising the structure, humor, and characters of the film, though there were discontented rumblings that the director had not been sufficiently adventurous.
The film consists of three stories that take place on the same night in downtown Memphis. The three stories are linked together by the Arcade Hotel, a run-down flophouse presided over by the night clerk (Screamin' Jay Hawkins) and bellboy (Cinqué Lee), where the principal characters in each story spend a part of the night. Every room in the hotel is adorned with a portrait of Elvis.
The first story, "Far From Yokohama", features Mitsuko (Youki Kudoh) and Jun (Masatoshi Nagase), a teenage couple from Yokohama making a pilgrimage to Memphis during a trip across America. Mitsuko is obsessed with Elvis to the point where she believes that there is a mystical connection between Elvis, Madonna and the Statue of Liberty. The film follows the couple as they travel from the train station, through downtown Memphis and an exhausting tour of Sun Records, to the Arcade hotel.
The second story, "A Ghost", is about an Italian widow, Luisa (Nicoletta Braschi), who is stranded in Memphis while escorting her husband's coffin back to Italy. Luisa, who has been conned twice and stuck with armfuls of magazines, is forced to share a room at the hotel with Dee Dee (Elizabeth Bracco), a young woman who has just left her husband and who plans to leave the city in the morning. Luisa is kept awake by Dee Dee's constant talking, and when the young woman finally does go to sleep, visited by an apparition of Memphis' most famous icon – Elvis Presley.
In the final story, "Lost In Space", Dee Dee's husband Johnny (Joe Strummer) is introduced. Having gotten drunk after losing his job, Johnny – known, much to his chagrin, as Elvis – drives around the city along with his friend Will Robinson (Rick Aviles) and brother-in-law Charlie (Steve Buscemi). They stop at a liquor store, which Johnny attempts to rob using the gun and severely wounds the owner in the process. Fearing the consequences of the incident, Johnny, Will and Charlie retire to the hotel to hide out for the night; there, Johnny gets further drunk. Charlie realizes that Will shares the same name as the character Will Robinson from the television show Lost in Space, which Johnny has never heard of. Charlie and Will proceed to tell him about the show, and Will comments that that is how he feels then with Charlie and Johnny; lost in space. The next morning Charlie discovers that Johnny isn't really his brother-in-law, which angers him because of what they've been through. Johnny attempts to shoot himself, and while struggling to prevent him, Charlie is shot in the leg. Leaving the hotel, the three escape a police car that isn't even looking for them. The closing credits show the train, the airport and the final views of the characters from the first two stories.
Directed by Jim Jarmusch - Produced by Rudd Simmons, Jim Stark - Written by Jim Jarmusch - Starring Youki Kudoh, Masatoshi Nagase, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Cinqué Lee, Nicoletta Braschi, Elizabeth Bracco, Rick Aviles, Joe Strummer, Steve Buscemi - Music by John Lurie - Cinematography Robby Müller - Editing by Melody London, Studio Mystery Train Inc, Victor Company of Japan, MTI Home Video - Distributed by Orion Classics (USA) - Release date(s) May 13, 1989 (1989-05-13) (Cannes Film Festival) November 17, 1989 (United States) - Running time 113 minutes - Country Japan, United States - Language English, Japanese
Production: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_Train_(film)#Production
From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_Train_(film)
Man jumps out window to avoid jail for missing child support
August 12, 2010
BY CHERYL V. JACKSON
What warrants a guy jumping from a third-story window? Fire? Terrorist attack? For a North Side man Tuesday, it was to avoid going to jail for allegedly not paying child support.
Ronald "Boobie" McIntyre, 35, jumped from a third-story apartment window to escape Cook County sheriff's deputies out to nab him, warrant in hand, for failure to pay about $6,000 in court-ordered support, deputies said.
He failed spectacularly, landing on what appeared to be grass but in actuality was artificial turf covering concrete. McIntyre, of the 1300 block of North Hudson, broke both legs and suffered other injuries, but he still attempted to crawl away from deputies, firing expletives at them, according to the sheriff's office.
He's hospitalized but free until his next court date, Oct. 19, on a judge's order.
McIntyre has been arrested 14 times and has more than 80 criminal convictions not related to the warrant, including 21 assaults, 39 incidences of obstructing justice and 20 convictions for invasion of privacy.
Police said they discovered McIntyre's mishap when they went to the Hudson address, were told by a woman she didn't know where he was, then spotted a child pointing toward the window from which he'd leapt.
From: http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/2591286,CST-NWS-jump12.article
BY CHERYL V. JACKSON
What warrants a guy jumping from a third-story window? Fire? Terrorist attack? For a North Side man Tuesday, it was to avoid going to jail for allegedly not paying child support.
Ronald "Boobie" McIntyre, 35, jumped from a third-story apartment window to escape Cook County sheriff's deputies out to nab him, warrant in hand, for failure to pay about $6,000 in court-ordered support, deputies said.
He failed spectacularly, landing on what appeared to be grass but in actuality was artificial turf covering concrete. McIntyre, of the 1300 block of North Hudson, broke both legs and suffered other injuries, but he still attempted to crawl away from deputies, firing expletives at them, according to the sheriff's office.
He's hospitalized but free until his next court date, Oct. 19, on a judge's order.
McIntyre has been arrested 14 times and has more than 80 criminal convictions not related to the warrant, including 21 assaults, 39 incidences of obstructing justice and 20 convictions for invasion of privacy.
Police said they discovered McIntyre's mishap when they went to the Hudson address, were told by a woman she didn't know where he was, then spotted a child pointing toward the window from which he'd leapt.
From: http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/2591286,CST-NWS-jump12.article
13-year-old struck by lightning on Friday 13th at 13.13
Friday the 13th is often thought of as an unlucky day - and it lived up to its reputation for one youngster.
Published: 7:00AM BST 14 Aug 2010
At precisely 13:13, a boy aged 13 was seen by the St John Ambulance team at Lowestoft Seafront Air Festival in Suffolk after he was struck by lightning, a spokesman said.
The boy suffered a minor burn and was taken to James Paget Hospital, where he is expected to make a full recovery.
Jason Gillingham, county ambulance officer and on scene at the show, said: ''This was a very minor burn to the boy's shoulder, but he was conveyed to hospital and is recovering well."
A second teenager and a woman were also struck by lightning but did not need hospital treatment.
The three were watching a display of the Red Arrows during a downpour when the lightning struck.
From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/7945019/13-year-old-struck-by-lightning-on-Friday-13th-at-13.13.html
Published: 7:00AM BST 14 Aug 2010
At precisely 13:13, a boy aged 13 was seen by the St John Ambulance team at Lowestoft Seafront Air Festival in Suffolk after he was struck by lightning, a spokesman said.
The boy suffered a minor burn and was taken to James Paget Hospital, where he is expected to make a full recovery.
Jason Gillingham, county ambulance officer and on scene at the show, said: ''This was a very minor burn to the boy's shoulder, but he was conveyed to hospital and is recovering well."
A second teenager and a woman were also struck by lightning but did not need hospital treatment.
The three were watching a display of the Red Arrows during a downpour when the lightning struck.
From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/7945019/13-year-old-struck-by-lightning-on-Friday-13th-at-13.13.html
Abuse inflicted on Citrus Park 3-year-old before his death detailed in court records
By Jessica Vander Velde, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Friday, August 13, 2010
TAMPA — When Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies responded to a 911 call Tuesday that 3-year-old John Taylor Baxley wasn't breathing, they found him with bruises across his body, a bite mark on his calf and an arm that appeared broken, a report states.
The cause of the toddler's death is still unclear, but the Sheriff's Office says he was repeatedly abused over the past six weeks by his father and the father's girlfriend.
Justin Garwacki, 26, and Kara O'Connell, 21, are charged with aggravated child abuse, and deputies anticipate additional charges. The two were held without bail.
A probable cause affidavit released Thursday gave a horrific account of a little boy's final weeks of life.
Hillsborough County sheriff's Detective David Schramm concluded that the abuse was inflicted for no purpose other "than to injure and cause pain."
When questioned, Garwacki said he had hit his son with a "cupped" hand on his head, face, stomach, legs and genital area, the detective wrote in the affidavit.
Garwacki also told investigators that about a week ago, he had his son in the bathtub and was pouring water over the boy's head to teach him how to hold his breath. When his son was not holding his breath properly, Garwacki struck the boy on the head, the affidavit states.
The boy fell, and his head hit the tub, according to the document. Garwacki and O'Connell filled a sock with uncooked rice and heated it in the microwave. They placed the sock onto the bruise, but that burned the boy's forehead, the affidavit states.
"The burn was an open, gaping wound that then went untreated," the detective wrote.
In an interview with Schramm, O'Connell also admitted to hitting the boy "numerous times about his face, head, and legs."
She said she has hit him hard enough to cause bruising and that she has picked the boy up off the floor by his throat, the affidavit states. She said she did that because the toddler would not listen to her. She said she knew striking John was "excessive and wrong," the detective wrote.
On Tuesday, Garwacki hit his son numerous times on the head, face, stomach and genital area because he was not eating properly, the affidavit states. Frustrated, he pulled his son's chair out from under him and he fell to the floor with a "thud," Garwacki told the detective.
O'Connell said that later that day, after the boy had eaten a Nutri-Grain bar and had some juice, he began to throw up. She put the boy into the bathtub and he stopped breathing, the affidavit states.
When Garwacki arrived at their home in the Citrus Park area north of Tampa, O'Connell told him what happened and he called 911. It's unclear how much time passed between when she noticed the boy wasn't breathing and Garwacki's 911 call.
"After further questioning with both suspects, they admitted to physical abuse against the victim over the last six weeks," Schramm wrote in the affidavit.
Both of them admitted they never sought medical attention for the boy, it states.
From: http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/article1114844.ece
In Print: Friday, August 13, 2010
TAMPA — When Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies responded to a 911 call Tuesday that 3-year-old John Taylor Baxley wasn't breathing, they found him with bruises across his body, a bite mark on his calf and an arm that appeared broken, a report states.
The cause of the toddler's death is still unclear, but the Sheriff's Office says he was repeatedly abused over the past six weeks by his father and the father's girlfriend.
Justin Garwacki, 26, and Kara O'Connell, 21, are charged with aggravated child abuse, and deputies anticipate additional charges. The two were held without bail.
A probable cause affidavit released Thursday gave a horrific account of a little boy's final weeks of life.
Hillsborough County sheriff's Detective David Schramm concluded that the abuse was inflicted for no purpose other "than to injure and cause pain."
When questioned, Garwacki said he had hit his son with a "cupped" hand on his head, face, stomach, legs and genital area, the detective wrote in the affidavit.
Garwacki also told investigators that about a week ago, he had his son in the bathtub and was pouring water over the boy's head to teach him how to hold his breath. When his son was not holding his breath properly, Garwacki struck the boy on the head, the affidavit states.
The boy fell, and his head hit the tub, according to the document. Garwacki and O'Connell filled a sock with uncooked rice and heated it in the microwave. They placed the sock onto the bruise, but that burned the boy's forehead, the affidavit states.
"The burn was an open, gaping wound that then went untreated," the detective wrote.
In an interview with Schramm, O'Connell also admitted to hitting the boy "numerous times about his face, head, and legs."
She said she has hit him hard enough to cause bruising and that she has picked the boy up off the floor by his throat, the affidavit states. She said she did that because the toddler would not listen to her. She said she knew striking John was "excessive and wrong," the detective wrote.
On Tuesday, Garwacki hit his son numerous times on the head, face, stomach and genital area because he was not eating properly, the affidavit states. Frustrated, he pulled his son's chair out from under him and he fell to the floor with a "thud," Garwacki told the detective.
O'Connell said that later that day, after the boy had eaten a Nutri-Grain bar and had some juice, he began to throw up. She put the boy into the bathtub and he stopped breathing, the affidavit states.
When Garwacki arrived at their home in the Citrus Park area north of Tampa, O'Connell told him what happened and he called 911. It's unclear how much time passed between when she noticed the boy wasn't breathing and Garwacki's 911 call.
"After further questioning with both suspects, they admitted to physical abuse against the victim over the last six weeks," Schramm wrote in the affidavit.
Both of them admitted they never sought medical attention for the boy, it states.
From: http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/article1114844.ece
Brutal murder in Stockholm suburb
Published: 14 Aug 10 08:50 CET
A 43-year-old man in Solna has been arrested for murder after a man was shot in the face in the stairwell of an apartment block on Friday afternoon.
Police were called to the scene shortly before 5pm after concerned neighbours reported hearing arguments and fighting in a building in the Hagalund district of the north Stockholm suburb.
When police arrived at the scene they found the body of the victim, who had been shot in the face. He had not yet been identified late on Friday evening.
The 43-year-old suspect was arrested for murder shortly after the shooting.
“He’s sobering up in a holding cell at the moment. He was intoxicated when the crime took place,” said police sergeant Mats Sundberg on Friday evening.
Police have not yet established a motive for the killing.
”We think they knew each other since they stood arguing in an apartment first,” police inspector Tomas Borr told newspaper Aftonbladet.
From: http://www.thelocal.se/28374/20100814/
A 43-year-old man in Solna has been arrested for murder after a man was shot in the face in the stairwell of an apartment block on Friday afternoon.
Police were called to the scene shortly before 5pm after concerned neighbours reported hearing arguments and fighting in a building in the Hagalund district of the north Stockholm suburb.
When police arrived at the scene they found the body of the victim, who had been shot in the face. He had not yet been identified late on Friday evening.
The 43-year-old suspect was arrested for murder shortly after the shooting.
“He’s sobering up in a holding cell at the moment. He was intoxicated when the crime took place,” said police sergeant Mats Sundberg on Friday evening.
Police have not yet established a motive for the killing.
”We think they knew each other since they stood arguing in an apartment first,” police inspector Tomas Borr told newspaper Aftonbladet.
From: http://www.thelocal.se/28374/20100814/
Satanic reg plate banned from Sweden's roads
The Swedish Transport Agency on Wednesday balked at the idea of the devil incarnate riding the country's roads and elected to reject a request from a car owner to adorn her vehicle with a "Luzifer" number plate.
"The combination of letters that you have asked for could be interpreted as offensive," the Swedish transport authority said, throwing "Luzifer" in the same bin as other rejected words such as "Badazz", "Sexyboy" and "Vodka".
However, 40-year-old Annsofie Tedfors told the daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter she did not have the devil in mind and "just wanted to pick a memorable name."
Tedfors added she had once had a cat and a business also called "Luzifer".
According to Swedish law, personalised car number plates must not be "offensive or disturbing", and the authorities must consider all proposals before they appear on the roads.
In a country with 9.5 million people there are some 15,860 personalised car number plates in circulation, each costing 6,000 kronor ($815) and lasting 10 years.
From: http://www.thelocal.se/28322/20100812/
Man tried to have sex with sheep
By Anna Leask 5:30 AM Sunday Aug 15, 2010
A man is facing a criminal charge after he was caught allegedly trying to have sex with a sheep.
The 34-year-old Mid Canterbury man appeared in the Ashburton District Court on July 26.
He was remanded on bail on one charge of attempting to commit an act of indecency with a sheep.
The lawyer representing the man applied for a suppression order prohibiting the publication of his name, occupation and address after the Herald on Sunday started making inquiries about the incident.
It is understood a woman jogging saw the alleged incident on the outskirts of a small town, about an hour away from Christchurch, and reported it to police.
Ashburton Sergeant Victoria Walker refused to comment on the case as it was before the courts.
The man has applied for legal aid and will reappear in court on August 23. He is the second person to be charged in relation to having sex with animals in Canterbury this year.
In April a 16-year-old youth appeared in the Christchurch District Court charged with bestiality after allegedly having sex with a four-year-old donkey he had taken into the middle of a suburban reserve.
The youth has since admitted the offence and undergone a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation.
From: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/crime/news/article.cfm?c_id=30&objectid=10666166
A man is facing a criminal charge after he was caught allegedly trying to have sex with a sheep.
The 34-year-old Mid Canterbury man appeared in the Ashburton District Court on July 26.
He was remanded on bail on one charge of attempting to commit an act of indecency with a sheep.
The lawyer representing the man applied for a suppression order prohibiting the publication of his name, occupation and address after the Herald on Sunday started making inquiries about the incident.
It is understood a woman jogging saw the alleged incident on the outskirts of a small town, about an hour away from Christchurch, and reported it to police.
Ashburton Sergeant Victoria Walker refused to comment on the case as it was before the courts.
The man has applied for legal aid and will reappear in court on August 23. He is the second person to be charged in relation to having sex with animals in Canterbury this year.
In April a 16-year-old youth appeared in the Christchurch District Court charged with bestiality after allegedly having sex with a four-year-old donkey he had taken into the middle of a suburban reserve.
The youth has since admitted the offence and undergone a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation.
From: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/crime/news/article.cfm?c_id=30&objectid=10666166
Alleged killer practised on relative
A former United States marine accused of the stabbing death of New Zealand-born nurse Michelle Beets allegedly held a knife to his brother-in law's throat to practise the killing, a Sydney court was told today.
Ms Beets, 58, a nurse manager at Royal North Shore Hospital, was attacked as she approached her Sydney home just after dark on April 27.
Walter Ciaran Marsh, 49, has yet to enter a plea to the charge that he murdered Ms Beets - a former work colleague.
Her throat was cut and she was stabbed at least a dozen times on the chest and neck.
A document tendered to Central Local Court today revealed Marsh's wife, Kim Chi Le - also known as Samantha Marsh - and brother-in law, Vinh Quang Le (Gabriel Le), would give evidence against him at a committal hearing scheduled for October 11.
Mr Le told police that Marsh used him "to practise slitting someone's throat and ... directed (him) to resist while (Marsh) performed this act".
Mr Le was also expected to tell the court that two months before Ms Beets was killed Marsh had sharpened his knife.
The case against Marsh relied on admissions he allegedly made to his wife, the document said. However, the document did not outline what those alleged admissions were.
Mrs Marsh told police she had assisted her husband, who remains in custody, after the killing.
The document said she had not given police a full account of her knowledge of events when she was initially questioned, but later made "progressive disclosure" of the admissions Marsh allegedly made to her.
From: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10665616
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"He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches."
"Being is substance and life; life manifests by movement; movement is perpetuated by equilibrium; equilibrium is therefore the law of immortality.
"The doctrine of equality!... But there exists no more poisonous poison: for it seems to be preached by justice itself, while it is the end of justice.... "Equality for equals, inequality for unequals" that would be the true voice of justice: and, what follows from it, "Never make equal what is unequal."
