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Strange Deaths

Snake 'strangles two children' in New Brunswick, Canada

A snake escaped from a pet shop and killed two children in the Canadian province of New Brunswick, police say.

In a statement, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said they believed the reptile had strangled two boys, aged five and seven, in Campbellton.

The boys were staying overnight at a friend's apartment above the pet shop.

Police said they believe the snake slipped out of its cage overnight and travelled through the ventilation. The serpent has been captured by police.
'Tragedy'

Officers were called to the address on Monday morning where the two boys were found dead, said a police statement. The flat was located above the Reptile Ocean exotic pet store.

"The preliminary investigation has led police to believe that a large exotic snake had escaped its enclosure at the store sometime overnight, and got into the ventilation system, then into the upstairs apartment," said the statement.

Post-mortem examinations will be performed on the two boys, thought to be brothers, on Tuesday. No charges have been laid so far.

Campbellton's deputy mayor, Ian Comeau, said the incident was a "tragedy".

"The city is in shock," he added.

Experts say attacks by exotic snakes are extremely rare.

David Rogrigue, director of Montreal's Ecomuseum Zoo, told Agence France-Presse news agency that this attack was "difficult to believe... very, very extraordinary, and very improbable".

In a Facebook message, Reptile Ocean wrote: "Deepest sympathies goes out to the family of the children. A terrible accident without a meaning."

The store said it would temporarily suspend its online account because users had posted "demeaning comments".

Initial reports suggested the reptile may have been a boa constrictor, but officials later said they believed it was an African rock python.

The owner of Reptile Ocean told CTV News that he had had the snake since 2001.
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Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23583116

So a snake happens to escape on the one night these children are sleeping over, climbs up the ventilation system, strangles both and doesn't attempt to eat them. No that's not suspicious at all.
 
The interview with the petshop store owner was bizarre. He was speaking about holes in the floor where the snake had crawled back, and seemed generally odd in his manner about the incident. I am no expert on snakes, but I find it beyond belief that a snake can work its way through a ventilation system to an upper floor, strangle two children to death, then escape through an open hole in the floor. What on earth sort of apartment has a ventilation system which allows a massive snake to enter and exit from at all. No louvres? No grilles?
 
This Australian story of a child attacked by a python seems to date from January

"Tex Tillis of Tex's Snake Removals' who removed the snake, said the coastal python or carpet snake was not looking for a meal, just somewhere warm.

"Pythons, underneath their bottom lip have a row of sensors which evolution has equipped them with to see the world in infrared. In the dark, baby and mother sleeping in the bed would look like a lump of heat,

"The snake turned violent when it felt threatened . . . "

Meanwhile, down at the ball-pit :shock:
 
People strangle each other, not snakes. I agree, it doesn't ring true. Very sad anyway, whatever's happened.
 
A boa constrictor might be able to "strangle" a human, but wouldn't a python be more likely to swallow you?
 
Yup, snakes kill for food. Might one have killed the boys and then, I dunno, had a nap before starting to eat them, during which time the deaths were discovered?

It seems now that the snake was a household pet, not a pet shop escapee. The plot thickens.
 
KC Man Kills Himself, Leaves Behind Website with 'Treasure' Coordinates

A Kansas City man picked up his gun early yesterday morning, headed down to the parking lot outside the Overland Park Police Station, and shot himself. A short while later his website went live.

On MartinManleyLifeAndDeath.com (now down, see mirror), the eponymous 60-year-old details every single aspect of both the life he led and the suicide he decided to commit on the very day typically reserved for celebrating his birth.

Manley prefaces the site with the following passage:

  • Before I get into the nuts and bolts of this site, I first must say to those whom I have a special bond with, please don't think that I didn't consider your feelings. I'm sorry... very sorry for the hurt and pain I will have caused by my actions. In all probability, I won't be able to justify it to you - at least not today. Maybe someday you will come to understand... better. If not today, maybe someday you will be able to read what I've said and learn why. Maybe someday you will be able to forgive me. I love you!
The site contains the many, many meticulous thoughts and ramblings of a man who harbored controversial opinions on everything from religion, to gun control, to 9-11, to sports.

Indeed, Manley was a pretty big deal in the sports world.

A former Kansas City Star writer, he is credited with inventing the NBA's Efficiency Rating.

After leaving the Star last year he kept writing on his personal sports blog, which was shut down yesterday with a final post that directed readers to his suicide website.

Aside from Manley's own writing, there has so far been no major organization confirming his death, excepting the Kansas City radio station 96.5 The Buzz.

Claiming to have in its possession an official report corroborating Manley's manner of suicide and the location in which it took place, The Buzz has also stumbled upon one of the more intriguing aspects of Manley's sprawling suicide note: The possibility that he left behind the coordinates for a veritable treasure trove of gold and silver.

Under the section entitled Suicide Preface, Manley insists that financial insecurity was not among his reasons for taking his own life.

"I had no financial problems. I sold my house which was completely paid for in 1998," he writes. "The same year I bought $30,000 in 1/10 ounce gold coins and pre 1965 silver coins. Gold was $300/ounce when I bought it and silver was $4/ounce. Gold went up to $1,700 and Silver to $44 making my stash worth over $200,000."

He then includes what appears to be GPS coordinates, leading some to believe he is directing readers to the location of his buried fortune.

The Buzz at least took the bait, and has sent out reporters to where X marks the spot in the hopes of finding out the truth.

The entire expedition is being streamed live on their website, and updates are being posted on Twitter with the hashtag #MartinManley.

More to come.

UPDATE: KCTV, the first major local news organization to report on Manley's death, has confirmed through police that he did indeed commit suicide yesterday morning around 5 AM.

However, Overland officers who have combed the scene of the alleged "buried treasure" say there is no gold to be found, and are referring to Manley's claim as a "hoax."

Family members who spoke with the news station apparently confirmed this, telling the CBS affiliate that Manley gave all his coins away prior to taking his own life.
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http://gawker.com/kc-man-kills-himself- ... 1153793095?

Here's the link to the mirror of his webpage... he really thought this sh*t out :shock:

http://www.zeroshare.info/
 
Vaughan Holme and Jack Hutton-Potts death falls accidental

An experienced climber fell more than 300ft (91m) down a sea cliff pulling his companion with him to their deaths, an inquest on Anglesey has heard.
Vaughan Holme, 48, from Horsham, West Sussex, was climbing the Gauntlet at Gogarth cliffs near Holyhead, Anglesey.
He and student Jack Hutton-Potts, 23, of Petersfield, Hampshire, were connected by a rope.
Mr Holme had multiple injuries while Mr Hutton-Potts drowned. Their deaths in June were recorded as accidental.

Pathologist Dr Mark Lord told the inquest in Llangefni that Mr Holme's death was "instantaneous". He said of Mr Hutton-Potts: "He's fallen, become unconscious and unfortunately landed in the water and drowned."

Coroner Nicola Jones said the impact of the plunge would have been enormous.
"Clearly the only conclusion I can come to is the deaths were due to an accident," she said.
"We don't know why Vaughan fell. We don't know why Jack decided not to hook on to the cliff."
Mrs Jones said the climb was within the men's capabilities, although challenging.

Elfyn Jones, of Llanberis mountain rescue team, said the pair were connected by a rope.
It appeared Mr Hutton-Potts was waiting to climb and occasionally when starting off it was a "judgement call" about whether to use a belay - a kind of anchoring equipment for climbers.
"Had they been belayed it's possible the fall wouldn't have had the consequences it had," he added.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-nort ... s-24750771
 
As this doesn't seem to be 'Dangerous Dogs' territory, I'll post this here for now:

Mountsorrel girl, four, dies after being bitten by dog

A four-year-old girl has died in hospital after being bitten by a dog.
Officers were called to a flat in Rowena Court in Mountsorrel, Leicestershire, at about 12:15 GMT to reports of a dog attack on a child.
She was taken to the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham where she later died.

The dog, believed to be a family pet, died shortly afterwards, but details of how it died have not been released by police.
In a statement, Leicestershire Police said they did not believe the dog "was of a breed listed under Section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act".
Inquiries are at an early stage and the force declined to give further details.

Arthur Nash, a neighbour of the family on Rowena Court, said: "Everybody is in shock at the moment with her dying.
"When I saw an ambulance pull up I thought it was an old lady on the court who had had a heart attack and then the neighbour came up and said [the girl] had been killed by the dog."

Gloria Longmire , a secretary at Mountsorrel Methodist Church, who walks her dogs in nearby Cross Lane, added: "I would say we do have a strong community here and people will be absolutely horrified and it's dreadful that it's a family pet."

Police officers remain at the scene and the flat has been cordoned off.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-24826566
 
He locked himself in a bag. Yeah okay


Death of UK Spy Found in Gym Bag 'Probably an Accident'

Police think Gareth Williams was alone

(Newser) – The MI6 spy whose naked body was found inside a zipped, padlocked gym bag probably died ... by accident, UK police have decided. The coroner said last year Gareth Williams was probably killed by someone else in a criminal act, but now the Metropolitan Police have completed an evidence review and say it's "more probable" no one else was in his apartment when he died in his bathroom in 2010, the BBC reports. The deputy assistant commissioner said today it's "theoretically possible" Williams locked himself into the bag.

Not surprisingly, Williams' family is sticking with the coroner's initial finding, saying in a statement, "We consider that on the basis of the facts at present known, the coroner's verdict accurately reflects the circumstances of Gareth's death." And the AP notes that the police department's "tentative conclusion" is "unlikely to calm conspiracy theories around the bizarre case." Police say they found little evidence of foul play in the code-breaker's death, no signs of a struggle or forced entry, and no evidence that the apartment had been forensically cleaned to remove DNA. Click for more on the strange case.


http://www.newser.com/story/177484/deat ... ident.html
 
Warlingham well body-find leads to seven arrests

Seven people have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a body was found in a well in south London.
Police were called to a private property in Audley Drive, Warlingham, on the Surrey border, at about 13:50 GMT on Friday.

A marine diving team has removed the body from the well and a post mortem examination is due to take place on Sunday.
Police said the body was white and its size suggested it was an adult.

The Met Police said the body, whose gender cannot yet be determined, was found by gardeners who were doing clearing work at the large house, which is situated in a cul-de-sac.
Det Ch Insp Cliff Lyons said: "It is a murder investigation.
"As far as I am concerned, when a body is found in a well, it either fell in there, or was placed in there, and the evidence is apparent that the body was placed in there.
"The well is two feet in diameter, it is seven feet deep to the water line, and the water is approximately four feet deep."

Det Ch Insp Lyons asked anyone with information or who has concerns about a missing person to contact the police and said the body had been there "for a matter of weeks".

Asked about claims by local residents there had been trouble at the house in the past couple of years and police had been called on numerous occasions, Mr Lyons said: "The residents have expressed concern, there is intelligence to support that notion, yes."

A local resident, who did not want to be named, said: "It is really shocking. You do not expect it here. It is a really quiet well-to-do area."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-24966496

I read an earlier version of this story this morning, with fewer details. The fact that it has led to seven arrests is quite a surprise.
 
Warlingham well body: Teenager's shock at finding body

A teenage boy who found a man's body in a well at a home in south London has said he has found it difficult to sleep since finding it.
Jack Duncan, 17, found the body with his friend Rory Mulholland, 21, at the home in Audley Drive in Warlingham, on the Surrey border, on Friday afternoon.
He said it had been really hard to sleep knowing that he had found it.

Seven men aged between 21 and 27 were arrested on suspicion of murder but have since been released on bail.
They have been released until December, pending further inquiries.
Police said the body was that of a white male although inquiries continue to try and establish the identity of the deceased.

An initial post-mortem examination did not prove conclusive in providing a cause of death and further tests will be carried out.
But police said the examination did reveal injuries to the body consistent with an assault.
Specialist police divers took several hours to retrieve the body from the water which is about 4ft deep (1.2m).

Mr Duncan and Mr Mulholland said they had been asked to tidy the well out.
Mr Duncan told BBC London News that when they cleared the roses and brambles out, they saw a slab over the top of the well.
"At first I thought the well was at ground level, I thought it was ornamental - I didn't think there was a drop in it," said Mr Mulholland.

"When we pulled up the slab we realised that there was a big drop and we saw a blue tarpaulin.
"At first we thought it was rubbish dumped, so we had a good look around and started moving it, and we slowly came to realise that it was in the shape of a body. It had legs."

Mr Duncan said: "It's been really hard to get back to sleep the last couple of nights knowing that you found a dead body. It's just been there, you don't know how long it's been there.
"I'm never going to look down a well again."

His friend added: "Any time anyone mentions it, it makes me feel a bit shaken inside. I've got butterflies.
"I'm worse today than I was yesterday. I'm just a bit shaken up."

Det Ch Insp Cliff Lyons, who is leading the investigation, said: "This is an unusual case and I would appeal for anybody who has concerns about a missing person, or who believes they may know something about this individual or incident, to call my officers.

"The post mortem examination has revealed this person, who we now know is a white male, suffered injuries before being placed into the well. We are treating the incident as a murder."

When asked at a press conference about claims by residents there had been trouble at the house in the past couple of years and police had been called on numerous occasions, Mr Lyons said: "The residents have expressed concern, there is intelligence to support that notion, yes."
He would not comment on who had lived in the house or if the body was intact.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-24979959
 
Body in Warlingham well: Victim had been tied up

A man found dead in a well had been tied up and his body left there for about two years, police have said.
The body was discovered by workmen at a home in Audley Drive, Warlingham, south London, on Friday.

Post-mortem tests proved inconclusive but detectives say the victim was a white man who had been assaulted.
The incident is being treated as murder and forensic work at the site, on the Surrey border, will continue for about a month.

Det Ch Insp Cliff Lyons said officers were reviewing missing person reports to try to establish the man's identity.
"This is someone's son and my team owe it to him and his family to find out the truth and bring those who committed this atrocious act to justice," he said.

Asked if he thought the man was dead before being put in the well, Mr Lyons said there was "every indication" that was the case.
Specialist police divers took several hours to retrieve the body on Saturday from the water, which is about 4ft (1.2m) deep .

The investigation has so far seen the well, where the body was found, partly demolished and water taken away for forensic examination.
Mr Lyons said: "The water has lots of insect larvae, property that may have fallen into the well, skin deposits etc that may offer opportunities for forensics and for identification."

Seven men aged between 21 and 27 who were arrested on suspicion of murder have been bailed until a date in late December, pending further investigations.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-24998049
 
Seemingly, not a particularly strange death, when first reported back in 2009. Although, a smashing wee actress died far, far, too young.
gncxx said:
[http://www.forteantimes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=935332&highlight=brittany+murphy#935332]

http://www.imdb.com/news/ni1320994/

Brittany Murphy died of cardiac arrest early Sunday morning, according to a report by TMZ. The actress was 32. It is reported that a call went out to 911 from her Los Angeles home at 8 a.m. Attempts to revive her were not successful, and she was pronounced dead upon arrival at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. In addition to The White Hotel and Clueless, the Atlanta-born Murphy costarred in 8 Mile and Riding in Cars with Boys. In May of 2007, she married British writer-director Simon Monjack. …
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Bloody hell.
Click to expand...
Since then, there have been disturbing developments.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-e...en-poisoned-with-criminal-intent-8949289.html

Brittany Murphy cause of death: Toxicology test suggests star may have been poisoned 'with criminal intent'

High levels of ten heavy metals were detected in the actress' tissue samples

The Independent. Jess Denham. 19 November 2013


Brittany Murphy may have been poisoned "with likely criminal intent" according to a new toxicologist report.

Lab reports conducted by the Carlson Company in Colorado detected 10 heavy metals at abnormal levels in tissue samples, stating that "exposure to metals administered by a third party perpetrator with likely criminal intent" was a possible explanation for Murphy's sudden death.

A coroner originally attributed her death in 2009 to drug intoxication, pneumonia and anaemia, but the late star's father requested further toxicology tests when the autopsy revealed unusually high levels of heavy metals.

A verdict of death by accidental and natural causes was given at the time.

The actress' husband, British screenwriter Simon Monjack, was found dead just five months after Murphy, with pneumonia and anaemia named as the cause.

Angelo Bertolotti, Murphy's father, sued the coroner's office to obtain his daughter's physical samples for independent testing after it admitted her body had not tested for poisonous substances.

Murphy's father said he was determined to debunk "vicious rumours" spread by the press about his daughter's lifestyle, which stemmed from the original autopsy.

"My daughter was neither anorexic not a drug junkie, as they repeatedly implied," he told The Examiner. "I will not rest until the truth about these tragic events is told. There will be justice for Brittany."

Bertolotti recently alleged in an interview with Fleur De Lis Film Studios that Murphy was under surveillance from the government after openly supporting the Department of Homeland Security whistleblower Julia Davis.

Heavy metals are commonly found in chemicals used to kill rodents and insects, with symptoms including headaches, abdominal cramps, tremors, disorientation, congestion and pneumonia.

There are no further plans to reopen the inquiry.

Chief Coroner Investigator Craig R Harvey said: "The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner has no plans to reopen our inquiry into the deaths. We stand by our original reports.

"We have not been presented with any [third] party lab test results for analysis, so we are unable to comment on publicised reports of private lab tests."
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Bloody hell, indeed. Where's Hercule Poirot, or Miss Marple, when they're really needed? :(
 
Jessica Fletcher is most appropriate, maybe. It's pretty bad that they have no plans to reopen the inquiry now Brittany seems to have been killed with rat poison or something similar. She seemed like a lovely girl, who would want to do that to her?
 
It's possible that Simon Monjack's health may have been impaired in the same way. I wonder if they tested him for heavy metal poisoning too?
 
rynner2 said:
Body in Warlingham well: Victim had been tied up

A man found dead in a well had been tied up and his body left there for about two years, police have said.
The body was discovered by workmen at a home in Audley Drive, Warlingham, south London, on Friday.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-24998049
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Body in Warlingham well identified as Damian Chlywka

A man whose bound body was found in a well in south London has been identified by police.
Damian Chlywka, a Polish national born in 1981, is believed to have been in the well in Audley Drive, Warlingham, for two years.
Two men, aged 41 and 33, were arrested on suspicion of his murder on Friday.
Seven men, aged between 21 and 27, who were previously arrested on suspicion of murder, remain on police bail.

Det Ch Insp Cliff Lyons, of the Metropolitan Police, said: "Damian had lived at various addresses across London including two known to be in the Croydon area.
"At one point he had lived at 11A Audley Road. Our focus now is to build up a fuller picture of Damian's life in the UK.
"We have given the difficult and heartbreaking news to his family who are distraught that this has happened to their loved one.

"I am appealing to anyone who knew or previously worked with him to contact the police and help us to piece together a picture of Damian's life and how it came to end in these distressing circumstances."

Mr Chlywka's body was found by workmen on 15 November. Police said his body had suffered injuries consistent with an assault, prior to being placed in the well.
A post-mortem examination did not provide a cause of death and further tests are being carried out.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-25165251
 
Christmas is taking its toll already...

Harassed boyfriend jumped to his death after his girlfriend insisted on going into another clothes shop


A man jumped to his death after a furious row with his girlfriend who insisted they go into another clothes shop.

CCTV shows Tao Hsiao, 38, escorting his girlfriend around a shopping mall in Xuzhou, Jiangsu
province, east China.

After five hours Tao finally had enough and demanded to go home.

An eyewitness said: 'He told her she already had enough shoes, more shoes that she could wear in a
lifetime and it was pointless buying any more.

'She started shouting at him accusing him of being a skinflint and of spoiling Christmas, it was a really heated argument.'

The shouting match ended when the man chucked the bags on the floor and jumped over the balcony, smashing into Christmas decorations on his way down before hitting the floor seven stories below causing shocked shoppers to flee in panic.

Emergency services arrived at the scene but Tao was killed immediately from the impact of the fall.

A shopping spokesman said: 'His body was removed fairly quickly.

'He actually landed on one of the stalls below and then fell to the floor so although the store was damaged it meant he didn't hit anybody.

'This is a tragic incident, but this time of year can be very stressful for many people.'
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -shop.html

Then again, he could have just dumped her...
 
I agree, simpler to have dumped her. But I suspect he had other issues, and the non-stop arguing and shopping was just the last straw.
 
True, it's usually a last-straw thing. A forbear of mine in the mid-19th century, a farmer, had an argument with his wife at the breakfast table about lumpy porridge and then walked out and drowned himself in the farm pond.

It's one of those family stories that have you shaking your head. :confused:
 
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