Accused Ohio serial killer, in video, admits sex with victims (Reuters)

CLEVELAND (Reuters) – Jurors in the capital murder trial of accused Ohio serial killer Anthony Sowell watched on Friday as he admitted in a videotaped interrogation to having sex with six women whose remains were found on his property.

In the video, jurors see a Sowell who is at times talkative and animated when discussing his house or relationship with ex-girlfriend Lori Frazier, but who sometimes appears agitated when the subject turns to the remains found in his home.

Sowell, 51, is on trial accused of murdering 11 women and assaulting four others, and could face the death penalty. The bodies of the women were found in and around his house after police raided his home in 2009 to arrest him for rape and assault.

Sowell, in video shown to jurors, never confesses to hurting or killing any of the women found at his house, although he does discuss meeting women and refers to dreams and fantasies as detectives ask him direct questions.

Sowell appears to concentrate as he tries to remember information about the women he met, what they were wearing, and their height and weight. He is seen rocking in his chair grabbing his head and repeating: "I don't remember."

At one point, two detectives show Sowell a diagram outlining where they found six bodies and asking him repeatedly which body was "his first" and which "the last".

"I don't remember actually killing anyone," Sowell says and tells the detectives he can't distinguish the women he dates from the six bodies that had been found by then by police.

"I was separated ... I see flashes," he says.

Throughout the interview, Sowell is asked if the women he describes meeting were "one of the six". Never does Sowell hint that there were more remains to be found on his property.

Sowell admits to having sex with "the six" women but when Smith says, "If we took DNA from you will we find it on them?" Sowell responds, "I don't want to do that."

Sowell talks about meeting women and bringing them to his house. But he never gives any details about what happened to them or how their remains came to be in his house. "Maybe all I did was strangle ... that's what I did," he says.

He says, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry" over and over again as the interrogation goes on late into the night and the detectives offer to give him time to think.

Sowell agrees with detectives that he should help give the families of the victims closure but appears to have problems distinguishing fact from fantasy.

"I'm telling you the best I can," he says.

At one point, Sowell seems to grasp what is going to happen to him, "My life is over," he tells detectives.

(Editing by James B. Kelleher and Cynthia Johnston)

View the original article here

Woman accused in dragging death pleads not guilty (AP)

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – A woman accused of dragging a tow truck driver to his death in Colorado has pleaded not guilty to the charges against her.

Detra Farries heard a dozen charges Friday, including felony hit and run, vehicular manslaughter, vehicular homicide, and leaving the scene of an accident in the Feb. 23 death of 35-year-old Allen Rose.

The judge cut her bond in half, from $50,000 to $25,000, but she remains in the El Paso County Jail. Trial was set for Nov. 7.

Authorities say Rose was preparing to tow an illegally parked SUV in Colorado Springs when someone got in the vehicle and drove away. Investigators say Rose tried to chase down the SUV but got tangled in the dangling tow cable and was dragged for more than a mile.

Prosecutors say Farries ignored Rose's attempts to flag her down.

Farries told police she didn't know she was being towed.

The death inspired a new state law this year that requires tow truck drivers to place a large warning sticker on the driver's side window stating that the vehicle is under tow before hitching it up. Drivers passing by a car about to be towed are required to move over a lane for the safety of the tow operator, just like vehicles must give room to police cruisers pulling someone over.

Sen. John Morse, the Democratic leader in the state Senate, says the signs are needed because towing is an "inherently dangerous job."

Farries' lawyers told a judge in May that witnesses saw the tow-truck driver run after Farries' GMC with a knife.

Farries' public defenders also told the court that Farries had limited ability to see behind her because her vehicle had broken and obscured mirrors.

Ron Archuleta, manager of Absolute Towing in Colorado Springs, said the law fell short when he tried on July 8 to tow a vehicle parked on private property. Archuleta said he stuck a warning sticker on the car and the driver ran up and tried to take back his vehicle.

Archuleta called Colorado Springs police, who issued 57-year-old Nenad Cebic a summons for a road law violation, police spokesman Steve Noblitt said. Noblitt didn't have Cebic's hometown but said Cebic was visiting from Wyoming. A phone listing for Cebic could not be found.

Archuleta said he plans to pursue civil action to recover the $75 towing fee that was never paid.

___

Information from: KRDO-TV, http://www.krdo.com/

___

Information from: KRDO-TV, http://www.krdo.com/

View the original article here

Court-martial for soldier accused of assault (AP)

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. – An Army prosecutor says a soldier suspected of crimes while based in afghanistan was a key part of talks among Stryker platoon soldiers accused of plans that included killing Afghan civilians.

Maj. Dre Leblanc said he intends to show at a court-martial that Sgt. Darren Jones of Pomona, Calif., was part of conspiracies to harm Afghans and to intimidate a whistleblower who led Army investigators to the platoon.

Jones is accused of joining others in his unit in beating up a soldier who told authorities about drug use. Jones is charged with assault and impeding an investigation.

Defense lawyer Kevin McDermott countered in his opening statement Thursday that Jones had no role in conspiring to kill Afghan civilians. McDermott also contended that Jones and other soldiers were upset at the whistleblower, then-Pfc. Justin Stoner, simply because of his attitude and his performance.

Jones is one of seven 5th Stryker Brigade soldiers accused of crimes while deployed in Afghanistan.

View the original article here

Trial opens for accused Cleveland serial killer (Reuters)

CLEVELAND (Reuters) – Prosecutors named each of the 11 women Anthony Sowell is alleged to have murdered and where their decomposing bodies were found buried in or around his house in opening statements for his trial on Monday.

Sowell, 51, has been charged with the aggravated murders of the Cleveland women, whose bodies were discovered by police in his house and backyard in fall 2009. Prosecutors seek the death penalty.

Cuyahoga County prosecutor Rick Bombik told jurors the case would be one they would never forget. Prosecutors outlined when each woman went missing, where in Sowell's house or backyard their bodies were found, and in what condition.

"It will be burned into your memories as long as you live," Bombik said.

Most of the homicides for which Sowell has been charged were caused by "ligature strangulation" and all of the victims were found nude or naked from the waist down.

Sowell's attorney, John Parker, described his client as a man with a "regular job" and who "had a relationship" in a statement that ran a little more than 11 minutes.

Parker said there were "no eye witnesses, no fingerprints and no DNA," in the case. The "forensic evidence will be greatly disappointing," he told the jury.

The defense also said there was no evidence of kidnapping or "planning" that would justify the aggravated circumstances of the murder charges and questioned the "credibility" of the witnesses who will testify against Sowell.

The trial before Judge Dick Ambrose is expected to include testimony from three alleged survivors. Prosecutors also are expected to present more than 8 hours of taped interviews between Sowell and the police.

On Monday prosecutors presented testimony from the first officer who arrived on the scene at Sowell's house and the owner of a sausage shop next to his house.

Earlier in the day jurors were taken to the home where Sowell lived and where the bodies of the 11 women were found.

(Editing by David Bailey and Jerry Norton)

View the original article here

Accused Boston crime boss "Whitey" Bulger arrested (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – On the run for 17 years, the accused Boston crime boss James "Whitey" Bulger and his longtime girlfriend were finally caught in California by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday.

They were arrested without incident at a residence in Santa Monica, the FBI said in a statement, just days after the agency renewed its public campaign to capture Bulger and his 60-year-old girlfriend Catherine Greig.

The 81-year-old former fugitive has been wanted on 19 counts of murder committed in the 1970s and 1980s, drug dealing, extortion, money laundering and conspiracy. He is the older brother of William "Billy" Bulger, a former president of the Massachusetts State Senate.

"Recent publicity produced a tip which led agents to Santa Monica where they located both Bulger and Greig at a residence," FBI Boston Special Agent in Charge Richard DesLauries said in a statement.

A $2 million reward was offered for information leading to Bulger's arrest and $100,000 for details of Greig's whereabouts. He was placed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list in 1999 and she was charged in 1997 with harboring a fugitive.

The FBI late on Wednesday slapped "Captured" tags on the photos they had posted on its website of Bulger and Greig, including ones enhanced of him to account for the time that had passed. Greig had multiple plastic surgeries before fleeing.

Before their capture in California, the last credible sighting of the pair was in London in 2002. Bulger is thought to have traveled extensively in the United States, Europe, Canada and Latin America.

The FBI produced a 30-second public service announcement focused on finding Greig and it began airing on Tuesday during daytime television programs in ten states. It was aimed at aimed at female viewers in the same age group as her.

The agency had hoped a hair-stylist, manicurist, doctor or other acquaintance might recognize Greig, a former dental hygienist.

The two are expected to make initial appearances in federal court in California, though it was not immediately clear when.

Bulger, said to be an avid reader and history buff who likes to take long walks on beaches, has been featured on the television show "America's Most Wanted" more than a dozen times between 1995 and 2010.

(Reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky in Washington and Ros Krasny in Boston; Editing by Philip Barbara)

View the original article here

Trial underway for accused killer of three police officers (Reuters)

PITTSBURGH (Reuters) – Dozens of police officers gathered outside a Pennsylvania courthouse on Monday to show support for the families of three slain officers, as the trial of their accused killer got underway.

Richard Poplawski, 24, of Pittsburgh allegedly shot and killed Pittsburgh police officers Eric Kelly, Stephen Mayhle and Paul Sciullo at his mother's house in the city's Stanton Heights neighborhood.

His mother had called 911 to report a domestic dispute on April 4, 2009. The suspect was arrested after being wounded following a three-hour standoff with police, according to court documents.

If convicted of the charges, including multiple counts of criminal homicide, he faces a maximum penalty of death.

Poplawski's mother said she had argued with her son that morning after discovering his dog had urinated inside the house, and that she was calling police to have him removed, court documents said.

She said her son had been discharged from the Marine Corps a few years earlier for assaulting his drill sergeant during training. She said he had been stockpiling guns and ammunition because he believed police were no longer able to protect society due to the economic collapse.

Mike Manko, a spokesman for the Allegheny County district attorney's office, said 18 jurors had been brought to Pittsburgh from Dauphin County for the trial, which was expected to last two weeks.

(Reporting by Daniel Lovering; Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Greg McCune)

View the original article here

Florida mother accused of murdering children is divorced (Reuters)

TAMPA, Fla (Reuters) – Julie Schenecker, who is accused of murdering her two teen-aged children, was divorced on Thursday from her husband Parker Schenecker at his request.

Julie Schenecker was arrested January 28 after police discovered the bodies of her son Beau, 13, and daughter Calyx, 16, at the family's home in Tampa. Both had been shot in the head.

Police said Julie Schenecker told them she shot the children because they talked back to her.

Parker, the children's father, is a U.S. Army officer who was on duty out of the country when the murders took place. He filed for divorce in February.

He attended the brief court hearing Thursday morning in Tampa but Julie did not. She has been held in jail without bail since her arrest.

Asked if the marriage was irretrievably broken, Parker Schenecker replied, "Yes."

Hillsborough Circuit Judge Cheryl Thomas said she would rule at a later date on the division of the couple's assets, estimated at $2 million.

Julie Schenecker has asked that she be granted half of the assets so she can hire an attorney to defend her. She is now being represented by a public defender.

Parker has filed a civil wrongful death suit against Julie. The couple did not have any other children.

(Reporting by Robert Green; Editing by Jerry Norton)

View the original article here

Former Philadelphia hospital executive accused of embezzling (Reuters)

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) – The former executive vice president and general counsel for Children's Hospital of Philadelphia was accused of embezzling $1.7 million from the prestigious facility, authorities said on Thursday.

Roosevelt Hairston Jr. hid the theft from the hospital known as CHOP by creating shell companies, opening bank accounts in their names and establishing phony offices for them, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

Hairston, 56, of suburban Malvern "used the funds he stole from CHOP to live a luxurious lifestyle, purchasing real estate, a yacht with a captain to maintain the yacht, high-end automobiles and many other luxury items," prosecutors said in a statement.

Prosecutors say the fraud started in 1999 and continued until February of this year.

Hairston also is accused of lying to co-workers and his personal assistant and stealing the identity of a friend, the charges said. The government also charged that he failed to report income from the scheme to the Internal Revenue Service.

Hairston's lawyer, Howard Bruce Klein, said: "Roosevelt has made huge mistakes in his life and has admitted financial irregularities."

Klein said the admissions came when a firm investigating the situation for CHOP interviewed Hairston.

"There is a whole other side to Roosevelt," Klein said.

He said Hairston has led a public interest law center, worked with hungry and homeless people and mentored students and that he hoped those activities would be taken into consideration as the case proceeds.

(Reporting by Dave Warner; Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Jerry Norton)

View the original article here

Ex-NHL player Barnaby accused of criminal mischief (AP)

AMHERST, N.Y. – ESPN analyst and former NHL player Matthew Barnaby pleaded not guilty Saturday to charges stemming from an argument with his estranged wife at an upstate New York home.

The 38-year-old Barnaby was arrested Friday and spent the night in jail after being picked up at a home in Getzville, a hamlet in Amherst where his wife and two children live, police said.

He pleaded not guilty to five charges, including criminal mischief, criminal trespass and harassment, and was released on his own recognizance.

Barnaby said in a statement Saturday that the argument involved a "family matter" and didn't include physical violence or the threat of violence. He said the past few months have been difficult for his family since he and his wife have decided to divorce.

ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz said the network is looking into the situation.

Barnaby broke into the league with the Buffalo Sabres and had a reputation as a league tough guy.

The Ottawa natice played for seven NHL teams before retiring in 2007 because of a concussion sustained during a fight.

Barnaby joined ESPN in 2008 as an NHL studio analyst. He lives in Buffalo.

(This version CORRECTS Corrects style for Ottawa in seventh paragraph.)

View the original article here