Strange Deaths

[Mighty_Emperor]

Missed this one on the front page:

Thai man 'overheats'

June 1, 2004

An elderly man in northern Thailand died yesterday after eating a large amount of durian, a pungent but wildly popular fruit that can overheat the body's metabolism.

Thavin Chaiya, 68, bought one of the large, brown, prickly shelled fruits on Sunday in the northern province of Chiang Mai and was feasting with friends on the durian's yellow flesh.

Villagers were quoted by The Nation newspaper as saying Thavin suddenly called for water and then his eyes bulged and he fell to the floor and began convulsing. He died on the way to hospital.

Medical officials said he was the second person to die from eating durian in the past month.

Dr Suwat Wiriyapongsukij, a former president of the Rural Doctors Society, warned that elderly people are especially vulnerable to the heat generated by eating durian.

He said people who eat the fruit should also drink plenty of water and eat "cooler" fruits such as mangosteen to prevent the body from overheating.

Medical authorities also advise against drinking alcohol while eating the highly sulphuric durian fruit or eating it after dark, because it can interfere with sleep.

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/05/31/1085855496294.html

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Grim:

N.Y. man kills wife, 1 of 4 children

One other child seriously wounded in stabbings

Monday, June 7, 2004 Posted: 1830 GMT (0230 HKT)



GATES, New York (AP) -- A man stabbed his wife to death during a domestic dispute and then lined up his four children, killing one and seriously wounding another as the other two fled, police said.

Steven Ryder, 46, and his 32-year-old wife, Louise, quarreled Sunday night after she requested a ride to work, according to police.

Steven Ryder called his wife "a Lucifer," and she tried to run away but was attacked with a knife, said Police Chief Thomas Roche.

During the attack, the couple's children fled outside, but were ordered by their father to return to the house, Roche said. Steven Ryder lined them up and attacked his 12-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son.

The couple's two other children escaped without injury. One ran to a nearby home and told a neighbor what happened.

The 12-year-old girl died from her wounds, police said. The son was hospitalized in serious condition.

Members of Monroe County's SWAT team found Steven Ryder dead in the home from apparent self-inflicted stab wounds, according to the Democrat and Chronicle of Rochester.

"It was a really ugly scene," Roche said. "Had the kids not revolted, I think he would have done them all."

Gates is a suburb of Rochester in northern New York.

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/US/Northeast/06/07/murder.suicide.ap/index.html

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

CHARGES DROPPED IN BIZARRE CASE OF SELF-DEFENSE

A woman accused of running over her boyfriend and dragging his body for 200 feet is free today after local police investigators backed up her claim of self defense.

Bridget Angelik Gray was charged with aggravated assault after an incident on April 21 that left James Johnson dead. Gray admitted driving off with Johnson on the hood of her pickup truck.

However Knoxville police investigators say that Johnson was standing on the hood of the truck, aiming a pistol at Gray. It was determined that Johnson was actually killed by bullets he fired after falling from the hood, ricocheting off the vehicle and striking him.

Gray had been in jail since the date of the incident.

http://www.wbir.com/News/news.asp?ID=18441

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Its an odd one and I would have posted it - I wonder if there is more to it too.

---------------

Man decapitates grandmother, ex-girlfriend

Wednesday, June 9, 2004 Posted: 1645 GMT (0045 HKT)


OCEAN TOWNSHIP, New Jersey (AP) -- Authorities said a New Jersey man decapitated and cut off the hands and feet of his grandmother and former girlfriend Tuesday.

Rosario Miraglia, 31, called police after emerging from his grandmother's two-story home covered in blood, said county prosecutor John Kaye.

When police entered the home they discovered the bodies of 87-year-old Julia Miraglia and 31-year-old Leigh L. Martinez.

Officials said Martinez was the mother of Miraglia's child and lived with the older woman.

A carving knife and a meat cleaver were found on the first floor next to the grandmother's body.

"It's one of the more disturbing (crime) scenes I've seen," said police detective Lt. Antonio Amodio.

Miraglia was charged with two counts of murder and was being held in lieu of million bail.

"We know the who, the what, the where and the how. We don't know the why," Kaye said.

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/US/Northeast/06/09/nj.killings.ap/index.html

 

[mendhak]

Man lies Dead in apartment for 20 years

TOKYO (Reuters) - The pajama-clad skeleton of a Japanese man has been found in a vacant apartment building -- 20 years after his lonely death.

The skeleton was discovered lying atop musty "futon" bedding earlier this month when workers getting ready to raze the derelict building entered the second floor unit where the man had lived, domestic media reports said on Thursday.

A newspaper dated February 20, 1984, was on the kitchen table.

Police believe the man, an employee of the construction firm that built the apartments in 1973, moved in after the building was vacated when the firm managing it went bankrupt, the reports said.

The man, then 57 and divorced with children, suddenly stopped coming in to work two decades ago but none of his relatives ever asked police to search for him.

"I had no idea that the apartment even existed," the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper quoted a 65-year-old neighbor as saying.

"After I heard the news, I thought 'Oh, it's here.' It's as if time had stopped in this one place."

http://news.excite.com/odd/article/id/97612|oddlyenough|06-10-2004::14:46|reuters.html

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Man making tea sees body in fridge

Thursday, June 10, 2004 Posted: 1228 GMT (2028 HKT)



LONDON, England -- Police have launched a murder inquiry after a man found the dismembered remains of his daughter-in-law inside his son's refrigerator while looking for milk, according to police and newspaper reports.

According to a report in The Sun newspaper, the man had gone to the couple's £500,000 (0,000) three-bedroom house in Kingston, southwest London and found no one was home.

After letting himself in and making a cup of tea, he opened the refrigerator to get some milk and found his daughter-in-law's dismembered body wrapped in plastic bags on the shelves, the paper said.

The man reportedly called police after finding the body and was said to be receiving counseling.

Detectives were looking for the man's son in relation to the incident, the Sun said.

"We would like to speak to the owner of the house, but that doesn't make him a suspect," Reuters quoted a police spokeswoman as saying.

A Scotland Yard spokeswoman confirmed to the UK Press Association that a murder investigation had been launched following the discovery of a dismembered body at a Kingston address.

She said a "member of the public" alerted police to the body Tuesday night.

A post mortem was being held Thursday, and police were awaiting a formal identification of the woman's body and communication with next-of-kin, the spokeswoman said.

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/06/10/uk.body/index.html

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Man plunges from Canyon copter in apparent suicide

Associated Press
Jun. 11, 2004 02:35 PM

Authorities found Friday the body of a passenger on a sightseeing helicopter who plunged to his death at Grand Canyon National Park in an apparent suicide.

The company operating the helicopter said the passenger removed his seat belt during the flight Thursday, opened a door and intentionally jumped. Park officials offered few details on what led up to the man’s death, saying only that he allegedly opened the door and exited the helicopter.

“Right now they are calling it an apparent suicide, but it’s still under investigation,” said park spokeswoman Leah McGinnis.

The Federal Aviation Administration will no longer participate in the investigation because the Papillon Airways pilot tried to restrain the man, said FAA spokesman Mike Fergus.

“The pilot didn’t do anything wrong,” Fergus said. “They didn’t know he was going to commit suicide.”

Rachel Wilkie, a spokesman for Papillon Airways, said the company’s canyon flights continued Friday and that it didn’t have any comment on the FAA pulling out of the investigation.

The man, whose identity wasn’t released, plunged to his death in steep terrain near White’s Butte about 90 miles northwest of Flagstaff.

The helicopter was returning to the canyon’s South Rim when the man fell about 4,000 feet to his death. Four other passengers and the pilot were shaken but unharmed.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0610B1-talker-ON7.html

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Couple dead in bizarre rush hour incident



Dallas, TX, Jun. 11 (UPI) -- In a bizarre Dallas-area incident witnesses say a man pushed a woman off an elevated highway overpass in a violent argument and then jumped to his death.

More than six witnesses told Richardson police they saw the startling incident unfold on the 85-foot-tall Bush Turnpike overpass late Thursday, The Dallas Morning News reported.

The couple was first seen arguing inside a parked 2000 Mercedes on the shoulder and then they got out. One witness said at first he thought they were just "goofing" around.

"I saw him trying to throw her over. And she was doing her best to stop him. She was fighting like hell," said witness Henry Ford of Plano.

Ford said he pulled over to the shoulder ahead of the Mercedes and was getting out of his car when the man pushed the woman over the railing and then jumped himself.

The woman's body fell on the hood of car passing below on the North Central Expressway and was carried a short distance before the car was struck by another vehicle, police said. The man was transported to a nearby hospital where he died.

The couple lived in a Dallas apartment, said police, who have no idea what precipitated the dispute.

http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20040611-103605-6313r.htm

Nice to see Henry Ford still up and about but the rest of the tale........

Emps

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

A follow up on a blast from the past:

Liverpool Daily Post
Detectives still hunt for knife in death inquiry Mar 23 2004


By Liam Murphy, Daily Post


DETECTIVES investigating the death and mutilation of a man in Chester say they can now place his whereabouts on the afternoon before his death.

However, they have still not found the weapon, believed to be a sharp-bladed knife.

Stephen Charles Prudhoe, 49, was found dead at his home earlier this month.

Tests have now been completed on Mr Prudhoe's dog, Milo, a small cross-breed found wandering round the property at Blacon Point Road to see if he had eaten the missing body parts.

A police spokesman said: "Cheshire Police has now received forensic results and there is no evidence from these that links the dog in any way to the body, or to indicate that the dog has digested any human body parts."

.............

http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/...unt-for-knife-in-death-inquiry-name_page.html

http://www.forteantimes.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=360233#post360233

Forensic tests may be key to bizarre case

Jun 11 2004




By David Holmes, Chester Chronicle


DETECTIVES are 'hopeful' forensic tests will help solve the suspicious death of Blacon man Stephen Prudhoe.

Mr Prudhoe died of a heart attack at his home in Blacon Point Road, Blacon, - after death someone had removed his genitals with a sharp instrument.

Dozens of items have been taken from the house to undergo forensic examination. So far all traces of DNA have been linked to people who had a legitimate reason for being in the house.

However, Detective Inspector Mark Tasker, while circumspect, says he has reason to believe tests on other items will prove fruitful.

'We are hopeful material still being examined can provide the answer,' he said.

Irrelevant DNA traces in the house have been eliminated thanks to the cooperation of friends and neighbours in volunteering their DNA which involves a simple mouth swab.

The detective continued: 'The amount of stuff an inquiry like this generates is massive. It takes time to go through. We do have breakthroughs, mini breakthroughs, all the time. Stuff comes back from the lab on an almost daily basis.'

DI Tasker is the third senior detective to be involved with the inquiry, partly due to officers changing positions, leading to criticism about how the case is being handled.

He said a detective inspector involved from day one continued to overview the inquiry and there were still 12 staff dedicated to solving the crime.

DI Tasker and his team believe the key to unlocking the puzzle can be found here in Chester.

'I am convinced and the team is convinced the answer is in the Blacon area. All the lines of inquiry at the moment and all the information we are getting is focused on the Blacon and Chester area,' he said.

The incident is being treated as a possible murder because Mr Prudhoe's heart attack may have been brought on by terrifying circumstances.

Worryingly, a psychologist has concluded the culprit could strike again.

Yet DI Tasker reckons there are still people who had not come forward with relevant information about Mr Prudhoe's past or lifestyle which may shed light on who could have carried out such a terrible crime. Unusually, the criminal fraternity has not been able to provide any names of suspects.

DI Tasker is perplexed: 'The feedback we are getting from people in the Blacon area is that he was a very likeable character. Everyone is surprised.'

He said if and when lines of inquiry in Chester were exhausted then the team would consider making a broader appeal through Granada's Crime-file or even the BBC's Crime-watch.

DI Tasker's nightmare is that the mutilation was carried out by a stranger with no established links to the victim.

'The worst case scenario is that it's random. But most murders are committed by people who have known them or are known acquaintances,' he said.

The detective remains 'hopeful rather than confident' this most mysterious of crimes can be solved.

A 21-year-old male, arrested on suspicion of the murder of Mr Prudhoe was told he did not need to return to the police station at the end of last month but he has not been completely eliminated from the inquiry.

Anyone with information can contact officers at the incident room on 01244 615522. Alternatively, information can be left in confidence on the Crimestoppers hotline 0800 555 111. Stephen Prudhoe had lived at his home address for about seven years. A single man, he lived alone, except for his dog Milo, whom he would walk several times a day making him highly visible in the close-knit community.

The victim also drank and smoked and would daily visit the Spar shop in Western Avenue to purchase alcohol.

His body was discovered on Wednesday, March 10, after a worried neighbour checked on Mr Prudhoe.

He was last been seen alive at 11.30am the day before at his house.

A post-mortem examination found Stephen Prudhoe had not been well. He had pneumonia, and a heart attack had contributed to his death.

However, the Home Office pathologist also concluded Stephen's body had been mutilated as it lay on the floor of his home after he died.

Police believe this was done at the victim's home where his body was found, but cannot confirm that this was where he died.

Speculation that Stephen's dog Milo, who was found in the house with his dead master, was responsible for the mutilation have been firmly disproved.

http://iccheshireonline.icnetwork.c...sts-may-be-key-to-bizarre-case-name_page.html

I very nearly posted this to the 'human mutilation' thread:

http://www.forteantimes.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6682

Before remembering it has been posted here.

Emps

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Man decapitates grandmother, ex-girlfriend

Wednesday, June 9, 2004 Posted: 1645 GMT (0045 HKT)


OCEAN TOWNSHIP, New Jersey (AP) -- Authorities said a New Jersey man decapitated and cut off the hands and feet of his grandmother and former girlfriend Tuesday.

........

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/US/Northeast/06/09/nj.killings.ap/index.html

it gets odder:

Suspect's tale: God ordered grandmother, girlfriend slain

Published in the Asbury Park Press 6/10/04
By TOM TRONCONE
STAFF WRITER

OCEAN TOWNSHIP -- A man charged with the gruesome murders of his grandmother and longtime girlfriend told police he killed the women on a directive from God, authorities said yesterday.


Rosario "Russell" Miraglia III, whose last known address was a drug rehabilitation center in Newark, told authorities a wild tale about how his grandmother, Julia Miraglia, 88, was descended from subjects of a Lebanese king who was ordered by God to kill those under his rule, said Monmouth County Prosecutor John Kaye.

Miraglia, according to police, murdered and dismembered his grandmother and Leigh Martinez, 31, the mother of his young son, in the Lakeview Avenue home the women shared. The suspect considered the home the "gateway to Hell," Kaye said.

"The king was directed by God to kill all of his subjects, but some escaped," Kaye said. "The grandmother was supposedly a direct descendant of the subjects. And he had been directed by God to finish the job. . . . He was obligated to do God's will."

Authorities doubt Miraglia actually believes the story and suspect he is instead trying to lay the groundwork for an insanity defense, Kaye said.

Kaye yesterday described in detail how authorities believe Miraglia killed his grandmother and Martinez, 31, the woman with whom he has a 6-year-old son. Miraglia entered the home through an open window around 8 a.m. and went upstairs, where he confronted Martinez, Kaye said.

Investigators believe Martinez attempted a call to 911 but Miraglia had cut the phone line, and when she picked up the phone, he stabbed her with a butcher knife, Kaye said.

After either hearing or seeing the stabbing, Julia Miraglia, frail and confined to the upstairs of the home, tried to flee, but Miraglia overtook her in the first-floor foyer and stabbed her, Kaye said.

Miraglia then dismembered the bodies with a meat cleaver, cutting off the heads, hands and feet, Kaye said. Miraglia had found both implements in the house, he added.

A call to 911

A great-uncle of the suspect's then arrived at the house; the great-uncle regularly stopped by to have breakfast and watch television with Julia Miraglia. Rosario Miraglia used the man's cell phone to call police, Kaye said. When officers arrived, Miraglia was in front of the home covered in the women's blood, Kaye said.

The fact that Miraglia killed Martinez before murdering his grandmother casts doubt on the Lebanese king tale, Kaye said.

"We believe Ms. Martinez was the primary target," Kaye said.

Kaye said yesterday that he has not determined whether to seek the death penalty.

"This case has some qualities and characteristics that would make it eligible for the death penalty," Kaye said.

It was unclear last night how long Miraglia spent in the Guild Halfway House on Freeman Street in Newark, or how long before the killings he was released. He told police he was homeless at the time of the murders and had been drug- and alcohol-free for several months, Kaye said.

In the past, however, Miraglia suffered from drug dependency and had been arrested for co-caine and heroin possession, according to Kaye and court records.

A new boyfriend

On Friday, Martinez was charged with heroin possession in Asbury Park along with Jo-seph L. Cacciatore, a man de-scribed by authorities as her lover, according to criminal complaints signed against the pair.

Cacciatore, 23, of Dairy Court, Freehold Township, was arrest-ed on heroin possession charg-es again in Asbury Park on Tuesday. He had arrived at the crime scene shortly after police did, then left upon learning about the murders and was ar-rested soon after that, accord-ing to authorities and the crim-inal complaint signed against Cacciatore.

A woman answering the phone at the Cacciatore home de-clined comment.

Martinez was a 1990 graduate of Howell Township High School. A few years later, she took a job as a secretary with the Monmouth County Division of Social Services. Described by a former colleague as a "smart kid" who deplored drugs, Marti-nez put herself through Mon-mouth University, graduating in the late 1990s.

She was hired by the county as a social worker dealing with the homeless in 1999, said Mary Fenton, for whom Martinez was a secretary.

"She was a great kid," Fenton said. "Smart. A real smart kid. Very feisty. Independent. I real-ly thought she was going to go somewhere."

Martinez resigned from the job after a couple of years and moved to Arizona to live with her parents. But soon, she was back in New Jersey and her on-again, off-again romance with Miraglia was back on, ac-cording to a friend. It was not clear whether the two were still seeing one another at the time of the murder, the friend said.

Efforts to reach Martinez's fam-ily in Arizona were unsuccess-ful.

The couple's son was removed from the home by DYFS some-time last year and placed in the custody of relatives, Kaye said. He had no information on why the child was removed.

Autopsies in progress

Dr. Jay Peacock, the Mon-mouth County medical examin-er, asked Kaye for more time to complete autopsies on the two women because he has not yet been able to inspect the knife and cleaver used in the kill-ings. These are undergoing fo-rensic examination at the New Jersey State Police laboratory.

First Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor Robert A. Honecker Jr. plans to prosecute the case, Kaye said.

Julia Miraglia and her hus-band, the late Rosario "Babe" Miraglia, were part-owners of Jimmy's Italian Restaurant in Asbury Park until they sold their shares to the current owners in the early 1990s. "Babe" Miraglia was referred to by Kaye yesterday as a long-time organized-crime associate.

Charles Houser, a biblical ex-pert from the American Bible Society, said there is nothing he can recall in the Bible about a Lebanese king killing his fol-lowers.

"I don't know of any examples of where a person hears a voice and is instructed to kill," he said. "And I don't know of any occasions where a king is in-structed to kill" his own sub-jects.

He said there are references in the Bible to "the ban," a term used when the rulers of new dynasties would kill anyone who had a claim to the throne they were overtaking.

Authorities have also not deter-mined what king or to which Bible passage Miraglia was re-ferring, Kaye said.

Suspect appears in court

At his initial appearance yes-terday before Superior Court Judge Michael D. Farren, Mir-aglia was presented with copies of the murder complaints.

As Monmouth County Sheriff's Department officers led the shackled, lanky man with mussed chin-length hair into the jury box, he glanced at the gallery filled with reporters and court employees, then stared ahead and down.

Deputy Public Defender Theo-dore Fishman told Farren that Miraglia III would be repre-sented by his office. He said he hadn't yet interviewed Mirag-lia but told the judge he may file a motion to reduce the bail.

Farren kept Miraglia's bail at million but told Fishman he could file the motion at a later date.

Except for answering "I don't know yet" when asked by Far-ren where he would go if re-leased, Miraglia remained si-lent. The suspect is referred to in court documents as Rosario Miraglia III and refers to him-self that way, though his grand-father had a different middle name.

http://www.app.com/app/story/0,21625,979968,00.html

 

[OneWingedBird]

From today's Metro paper:


Expert's Suicide By Chemicals

A chemicals expert sparked a major security alert after killing himself by drinking a cocktail of cyanide and sulphuric acid. Dr Kevin Baldwin's death forced the closure of a hospital resuscitation department after his contaminated body was taken there by paramedics. And a rescuer who tried to revive him with the kiss of life needed treatment for severe acid burns to the lips and mouth.

The 43 year old doctor of chemistry was found sprawled on the floor of an industrial unit where he worked. He was surrounded by empty bottles. The firm makes aircraft parts which are plated using chemicals. A Hampshire Police spokesman said: "The fire brigade treated the matter as a major chemical incident and sealed off the area". The death is being treated as a suicide. It is thought the doctor, of Farnborough, Hampshire, killed himself in grief after his girlfriend's suicide a few months ago.


Now that had to hurt:eek!!!!:

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Sat, June 12, 2004


Granny murdered

Fourteen year old held in premeditated killing

By POLICE REPORTER; CARY CASTAGNA




A 14-year-old Winnipeg boy has been charged with first-degree murder in the alleged premeditated killing of his 79-year-old grandmother. The teen, who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, is also accused of killing his grandmother's dog by allegedly poisoning it.

"We're all in shock over this. She was so good to him (her grandson)," a relative, who didn't want to be identified, told The Sun yesterday. "She was such a lovely woman."

Police were called shortly before 6 p.m. Thursday to a duplex in Fort Garry, where they discovered the elderly woman's body inside the home about 6:30 p.m.

The victim's relatives had called police at 5:45 p.m. because they hadn't heard from her since Sunday night, said police and a family member.

AUTOPSY CONDUCTED

An autopsy was conducted yesterday but results -- including the cause of death -- hadn't been released by press time last night.

Police also weren't discussing a possible motive for the city's 11th homicide of 2004.

"The motive would form part of our investigation and part of the court process," said Winnipeg police spokeswoman Const. Shelly Glover.

"It is a troubling case. To have a family member who is so young allegedly do such a terrible thing to someone who is supposed to be a loved one is beyond comprehension to most of us."

ARRESTED AT RESIDENCE

The teen suspect, who police said didn't live with his grandmother but was known to frequent her home, was arrested at the residence and charged with the uncommon offence.

Winnipeg police usually charge homicide suspects with second-degree murder or manslaughter.

"First-degree murder implies intention to kill," Glover said. "There is indication this was a planned act by this male."

A police source called the slaying "well planned."

Cops allege the teen, who was in custody at the Manitoba Youth Centre, acted alone, with no accomplices. They said they have no other suspects.

The murder appears to have occurred Monday, a police source said.

The woman's pet, a small lap dog, was found clinging to life, a relative said.

"He poisoned the poor little pup. He put anti-freeze in the water dish," the relative said. "The dog was in agony for days. They took it to the vet to put it down.

"That's sick," the relative added. "It's bad enough to kill your grandmother."

Neighbours said the senior citizen went everywhere with her dog.

"She loved it to death," a relative said. "It's heart-rending."

The grandmother, who was hard of hearing, had been widowed for several years after the death of her husband, who served in the air force.

The relative said she was the mother of the accused's father.

"She went out for coffee in the morning," a 41-year-old neighbour said. "She was just a normal lady."

The victim's name has been withheld to protect her underage grandson's identity. The Youth Criminal Justice Act prohibits The Sun from publishing any identifying information.

The grandson's father, who was contacted yesterday at his Fort Garry home, declined to comment.

"I don't want to get into it right now," he said.

It was unknown yesterday whether the teen would be required to undergo a psychiatric examination.

The father wouldn't answer when asked whether his son had any mental difficulties.

http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/WinnipegSun/News/2004/06/12/496073.html

 

[lopaka]

Food Firm President Kills Himself Over 'Dumpling Scandal'

SEOUL, June 14 (Yonhap) -- The president of a local food firm jumped to his death from a bridge over Seoul's Han River on Sunday after his company was implicated in a scandal over dumplings stuffed with ingredients unfit to eat, police said.

An eyewitness reported seeing a man jumping from the Banpo Bridge around 8:50 p.m. Police found a three-page suicide note, a mobile phone and a pair of shoes at the site.

They are believed to be of a 35-year-old man, identified only as his family name Shin, who runs Vision Food, a dumpling-producing company based in Hwasun, South Jeolla Province, about 340 km south of Seoul, police said.

"While crossing the bridge in my car, I saw a man in a white dress shirt and black pants throwing himself into the river. So, I alerted police right away," the witness was quoted as saying.

After being alerted, police immediately mobilized rescuers to search for Shin, but failed to find him. The operation was suspended around 10:30 p.m.

Shin wrote in the suicide note that he "experienced economic difficulties" as many creditors rushed to him (to collect their debts) after a news report on the dumpling incident.

"I leave my son and daughter to their mother's care...I feel sorry to the nation," he said.

A separate piece of paper, found along with the suicide note, showed that Shin has a total of 1.3 billion won (US$1.1 million) in debt to about 10 financial institutions and other companies.

Shin's Vision Food was one of a dozen dumping producers found to have used rotten chopped radishes to stuff dumplings from last year to February.

The so-called "garbage dumpling" scandal outraged the public and dumpling sales plummeted.

[email protected]

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Fox Lake man pleads guilty, gets jail time for killing man with his snowmobile

By Tony Gordon Daily Herald Legal Affairs Writer
Posted 6/12/2004

A Fox Lake man who beheaded his friend while driving a snowmobile drunk was sentenced Friday to 30 months probation in Lake County Circuit Court.

Michael D. Winscom, 27, will also spend six months in jail with work-release privileges and was ordered to perform 175 hours of public service.

"This was a gruesome death, a gruesome reckless homicide," Circuit Judge James Booras said as he approved the plea agreement forged by a prosecutor and Waukegan defense attorney Robert Fox. "A sentence of incarceration is necessary to protect the public and also to send a message that says you cannot go out and get roaring drunk and operate an instrument of death like a snowmobile."

Winscom, of 32 Hillcrest Drive, had a blood alcohol content of .143 percent in the pre-dawn hours of Jan. 9, 2003, as he and Thomas Sieckowski, 26, of Round Lake Beach, were driving snowmobiles across a partially frozen Pistakee Lake.

Police said the pair had been drinking at a bar until about 2 a.m., then left and drove west across the lake.

Winscom told police he was in front of Sieckowski's snowmobile, which fell through the ice that was only about 3 inches thick and had been weakened by a week of above-freezing temperatures.

When Winscom reached the opposite shoreline, he realized Sieckowski was no longer with him and turned back to look for his friend.

In the process of turning around, Winscom flipped his snowmobile and broke his collarbone. After he righted the snowmobile, Winscom started back across the lake in excess of 120 mph and, without realizing it, struck Sieckowski as he was climbing out of the water.

Sieckowski's helmeted head was found by sheriff's deputies on the ice and his body was recovered by divers later that same day.

Sieckowski's snowmobile was never found. Assistant State's Attorney Dan Kleinhubert said paint samples taken from Sieckowski's helmet matched Winscom's snowmobile.

Had he been convicted of reckless homicide after a trial, Winscom could have faced up to 14 years in prison.

http://www.dailyherald.com/search/main_story.asp?intid=38150125

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

There do seem to be a spate of beheadings going on:

Man Held In Beheading Of Writer, Slaying Of Neighbor

Suspect Arrested Near Paramount Pictures Lot

POSTED: 6:37 am PDT June 14, 2004
UPDATED: 7:51 pm PDT June 14, 2004

LOS ANGELES -- Police tipped by Hollywood studio guards captured a man who they had just identified Monday as the suspect in the beheading of a 91-year-old screenwriter and the stabbing death of a neighbor in the midst of a phone call with an airline reservation agent.

Keven Lee Graff, 27, was arrested near the gates of Paramount Studios, about 2 miles from the victims' homes, after he was recognized by a studio guard.

The guard recognized Graff's picture from a televised news conference that had just aired, and his supervisor called police, said police Chief William Bratton.

Police found the body of retired physician Morley Hal Engleson, 67, on Sunday after the airline ticketing agent called police and reported hearing a commotion break out while he was trying to book a flight over the phone.

In the rear of Engleson's home they found the head of 91-year-old Robert Lees, a screenwriter who had worked on films including "Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein."

A friend who had gone to check on Lees found his body in his home, which is a street over and behind Engleson's.

"This is one of the most horrendous crime scenes that I have seen during my 33 years as a police officer in this city," said Detective Brian Tyndall, one of the lead investigators in the case. "Very bloody."

Bratton said the arrest came immediately after the press conference at which he appealed for public help in locating Graff but warned that anyone who spotted him should stay away from him.

During the same press conference, Bratton said he felt relief that Graf was captured. He added that after what he witnessed at the crime scene, if the LAPD can quickly tie Graff to the grizzly murders he'd be extremely relieved for all Angelinos.

Graff had walked into the studio and asked for the phone number of a Paramount employee when a guard confronted him, said security Sgt. Craig Phillips.

Graff acted strangely after leaving the lot, talking to himself and making obscene gestures at passing cars, and guards decided to keep their surveillance camera trained on him, Phillips said.

Minutes later, the news conference was shown on the television in the guards' break room.

"I saw it, and I said, 'That looks a lot like the guy I've got on camera,"' Phillips said.

Graff was arrested without incident, Bratton said. Police did not find a weapon on him, and it was not yet determined whether he knew the victims.

"It's too early in the investigation to understand why those two particular houses, those two particular people were chosen, if they were chosen at all," Bratton said.

The suspect was also believed to have stolen Engleson's black Mercedes-Benz, which was recovered nearby.

Graff, of Orange County, was known to frequent the Hollywood area, Bratton said.

Some items taken from Lees' house were found in Engleson's home, authorities said.

Lees, who was blacklisted during the Communist scare of the 1950s, also wrote under the name J.E. Selby, according to the Writers Guild of America. He had several film and television credits, including episodes of "Rawhide" and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents."

He spoke in April 2002 at an event held by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to cap several months of exhibits about the blacklist, academy spokesman John Pavlik said.

People in Lees' wealthy, close-knit neighborhood said he had been a lucid and entertaining storyteller. Helen Klein, a neighbor, said she and her husband had been to his home, which was filled with Hollywood memorabilia.

"I think he was a model for a senior citizen. He's just intelligent, vibrant," Klein said.

She said he often drove around the neighborhood in his car, which had a "War is Not the Answer" bumper sticker.

"He is the guy you want for the neighbor next door," said Jeff Mesino, another neighbor. "He would say, 'Take the tools from my garage whenever you want."'

Several of Engleson's neighbors declined interview requests, saying they were afraid for their safety.

http://www.nbc4.tv/news/3415530/detail.html

 

[escargot]

The snowmobile sentence seems slightly unfair to me as the victim was behaving entirely as stupidly as the guilty party and it was surely only chance which one of the two died.

Although of course it does seem right to try to discourage this type of stupidity, it looks as if Winscom is taking all the blame.

 

[headnspace]

Man Falls To Death From Helicopter Over Grand Canyon

From http://www.thenewmexicochannel.com/news/3407552/detail.html .

The link describes how a man in a helicopter unbuckled his seatbelt, opened the door, and fell out of the helicopter.

I find this quote surprising.

Authorities say the cause of death won't be determined until the body is recovered from White's Butte.

ummm. . . cause of death would probably be. . . ohhhh. . . hitting the ground real hard, perhaps?

But seriously, why he jumped/fell is the mystery, not "cause of death". (although this could be the journalist's mistake, not the authorities') Perhaps it could have been the need to get out of a confining aircraft, or perhaps it was suicide. I'm not sure how this would be found out by viewing the body itself.

 

[Anonymous]

Re: Man Falls To Death From Helicopter Over Grand Canyon

ummm. . . cause of death would probably be. . . ohhhh. . . hitting the ground real hard, perhaps?

Ahh, but what if the pilot and the passengers are lying? What if they shot him in the head then pushed him out of the helicopter? Highly unlikely I know but until they examine the body they can't just assume.

 

[TheQuixote]

Designer dies for curtain comment

A South African man has been found guilty of killing an interior designer after she criticised his curtains.


"She [Beatrice Harrowyn, 47] did not make any nice comments about my place, so I went to my garage and fetched an axe," said Jose Da Silva, 37.

He said that "voices" had told him to become a serial killer but the judge found him guilty of murder.

He also criticised the police for taking six weeks to arrest him, saying he had left clues for them to follow.

"It should have taken two days. It was their job to arrest me. I pay taxes and [thus] their salary."

'Playing a game'

Several other female interior designers and estate agents said that Da Silva had tried to lure them to his house.

Harrowyn's near naked body was kept in a bath for two or three days before being dumped by the side of a road.

There was no evidence that she has been sexually abused.

Da Silva said he was "relieved" to have been arrested because "I am no longer a danger to society."

He said that he had told his psychiatrist that he wanted to kill someone six months before the murder.

A former colleague testified that Da Silva had changed after going into a coma following a heart bypass operation.

He started to live a "lavish" lifestyle way beyond his means.

Judge Johan Els said that he did not believe Da Silva's claims to have been "playing a game" and copying film scenes.

"I am convinced that he lured people to his place so that he could overpower and rob them," he said.

He is due to be sentenced on Friday.

BBCi News 16/06/04

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

From the front page:

Death plunge over rotten dumplings

Monday, June 14, 2004 Posted: 1818 GMT (0218 HKT)


SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- The head of a food company jumped to his death after a government investigation found that his company sold dumplings made with rotten ingredients, police said Monday.

A witness said he saw the man jump from a bridge in Seoul's Han River on Sunday, a police official said.

Police have yet to find the body but found his identification card and a recently written will.

He was identified in media reports only by his family name, Shin -- the head of Vision Food, a dumpling company.

Last week, South Korea's Food and Drug Administration announced that at least 12 companies had been using rotten radishes in their frozen dumplings and ordered the dumplings pulled off the shelves.

The government has confiscated 20 tons of what the local press dubbed "garbage dumplings."

In his will, Shin said that he faced economic difficulties with creditors following the dumpling scandal, the Yonhap news agency said. He wrote his dumplings were harmless to people.

No illness have been reported from the dumplings. But department stores have said that dumpling sales have dropped by up to 90 percent.

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/06/14/skorea.dumplings.ap/index.html

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

'SAMURAI' TEEN TOLD POLICE: I KILLED PAL

By ERIC LENKOWITZ and IKIMULISA LIVINGSTON

June 15, 2004 -- A Queens teen accused of slaying his friend with a samurai sword confessed to police less than an hour after the attack and even told cops where to find the blood-drenched murder weapon, prosecutors said yesterday.

Shortly after Ricardo Richardson's body was found Sunday in an upstairs apartment at a two-story house on Maspeth Avenue, cops converged on Michael Desiderio's residence nearby on 66th Street.

There, according to prosecutors, Desiderio talked to cops who were armed with a search warrant.

"I killed the guy," cops quoted Desiderio as saying. "The knife is wrapped up inside of my bloody pants in the house."

Prosecutors also attributed a written statement to the defendant, in which he describes being threatened with a BB gun.

"He pointed a gun at my head," Desiderio allegedly wrote. "I left the room. Then I went to get my sword and kept hitting him with the sword. He fell down. I put the sword in my closet in the basement of my home."

Nathalie Bell, an assistant district attorney, said a BB gun was recovered from the crime scene.

Desiderio, 18, of Maspeth, was arraigned yesterday on charges of second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon.

Desiderio's attorney, Robert Gottlieb, said comments attributed to his client appeared to have been made before he was allowed to meet with a lawyer.

http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/25722.htm

Samurai slaying

Collar Queens teen in sword attack on 19-year-old 'friend'

By RICHARD WEIR and GREG GITTRICH
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS


A teenager used a samurai sword to hack a 19-year-old man to death yesterday inside a Queens apartment, a law enforcement source said.

Michael Desiderio, 18, allegedly chopped apart his supposed friend Ricardo Richardson about 10 a.m., slicing his neck and severely cutting into his arm, the source said.

The victim was hacked in the back of his head and on the right hand, right side of his face and the back of his neck, a law enforcement source said.

"There's blood everywhere," said Steven Wisnowski, 21, who lives in the Maspeth Ave. house where Richardson was slain. "There's blood on the walls. There's blood on the floor. There's blood on the ceiling."

Shortly after Richardson's body was found, cops swarmed a house about a mile away from the scene of the killing and arrested Desiderio.

A neighbor, who did not want his name used, described Desiderio as a slightly built boy who wears glasses and lives with his grandfather on 66th St., in Maspeth.

"The kid is a bad egg," the man said.

It was not immediately clear what sparked the explosion of violence, but cops questioned several young men and women, including Wisnowski and his girlfriend, after the slaying.

Neighbors complained that the two-story house has become a crash pad for a rowdy group of teens in recent months.

A few of them were hanging out and listening to music inside the home just hours before the killing, neighbors said.

Authorities said Richardson had been staying in the apartment where he was murdered.

But Wisnowski's younger brother Chris Wisnowski, 17, whose family owns the house, denied that Richardson was a tenant.

Wisnowski said Richardson moved to New York from Trinidad a few months ago and hung out with other teens at the house - including the alleged killer.

Wisnowski claimed the two young men had been "good friends."

"He was a good kid," Wisnowski said of Richardson. "He showed respect. He didn't look for trouble." Desiderio was waiting to be arraigned last night on charges of second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon.

He faces up to life in prison if convicted, according to a spokeswoman for Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/202732p-174906c.html

 

[Kondoru]

<sighs> Sounds as bad as something on CSI.

I told a fan that I found the show pointless since there was no suprise, you already knew or could guess who did it.

She said that this was CSI and not a whodunnit.

Cultural differences, I guess

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Ky. Man Survives Crash, Then Dies After Stepping On Power Line

More Than 7,000 Volts Kill Victim

An autopsy will be performed Thursday on a Kentucky man who died in a bizarre accident, according to police.

Brandon Popplewell, of Russell Springs, was involved in a traffic crash Wednesday night east of his hometown, but was not seriously injured, WLKY NewsChannel 32 reported.

The crash knocked down power lines, and when Popplewell walked down the road for help, he stepped on a 7,200-volt line and was electrocuted.

http://www.thelouisvillechannel.com/news/3429102/detail.html

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Decapitations raise questions of possible copycat crime

By DAVID ROBLEDO
The Brownsville Herald

June 18, 2004 — Eerie similarities in the brutal killing of six children have raised the question of a “copycat” crime with Brownsville ties.

The details linking the decapitation death of three Brownsville children in March last year and last month’s slaying of three Baltimore children — two nearly decapitated and one that was — appear strangely coincidental.

Both cities begin with the same letter. The months the crimes occurred begin with the same letter.

The crime scenes were both small apartments in which members from two families lived.

The crime scenes were both small apartments in which members from two families lived.

The killings were discovered in the early afternoon.

Family members are suspected in both cases.

Suspects include undocumented Mexican immigrants.

Knives were used in both cases.

Two children who died in separate crimes share the same last names.

Both those children are products of failed relationships.

Together, the similarities may add up to more.

Baltimore police have not found a motive for the May 27 killing of Lucero Morales Quezada, 9, her brother Ricardo Anubis Espinoza Quezada Jr., 9, and their cousin Alexis Espejo Quezada, 10.

The March 11 deaths of Julissa Quezada, 3, John Stephan Rubio, 1, and Mary Jane Rubio, 2 months, might provide that motive, they said.

“The girls’ last name being so similar, and (the ties) to Mexico — it could be related,” said Baltimore police Detective Sabrina Torres. “It’s just crazy.”

Baltimore police learned of the Brownsville murders after a call from The Brownsville Herald.

A judicial gag order limits the ability of Baltimore police to comment, but investigators hinted that the killing methods might have been similar.

On hearing that a Brownsville crime existed in which children were decapitated with knives, an investigator asked if the Brownsville victims had been suffocated.
They were. The Brownsville children were stabbed numerous times and suffocated before their heads were severed. The known similarities in the cases are not enough to suggest that the Baltimore murders were styled after the ones in Brownsville, said behavioral criminologist Gregg O. McCrary, a former FBI special agent and current adjunct professor of forensic psychology at Nova Southeastern University in Florida.

But the details are similar enough to investigate the possibility of a copycat crime, he said, and details from the Brownsville case should be looked at in their entirety and compared to the details in Baltimore.

“If there is some other commonality that can be found ... (like) an occult mindset or activity. That would be something to take a look at,” he said in a phone interview with The Herald on Thursday.

The Brownsville killings were shrouded in occult themes and beliefs.

John Allen Rubio, sentenced to death for his part in the Brownsville children’s deaths, told police that he killed the children because they were possessed with the spirit of his grandmother.

Camacho said in a confession to police that the day before the murders, she and Rubio had seen a woman with the mark of the devil. She said that the children were acting strange — not how little children should act.
Rubio’s descriptions were markedly more descriptive, claiming that Julissa was possessed by the soul of his grandmother — who was a witch — and that the children growled at him with beast-like noises before he killed them.

Rubio, 23, was father to one of the children, and he said that he also loved the others.

He admitted to an addiction to sniffing spray paint, and a witness pegged Rubio holding a can of spray paint on the day the dead children were found.

The children’s mother, Angela Camacho, 24, is also charged with their deaths, stating in a confession to police that she handed at least one knife to Rubio and that she helped hold down the children while Rubio was sawing their heads off.

The undocumented Mexican immigrant is awaiting trial. A date has not been set.

Rubio said he decapitated the children because he learned from a movie that beheading is a dependable method of exorcism.

An anthropologist who testified in Rubio’s trial said no details at the crime scene suggested organized occult activity, but he said that Rubio’s description of the children’s behavior and strength when he killed them fits with what is known about demon possession.

The parents of the dead Baltimore children buried them Sunday in Tenenexpan, Mexico.

Maria Andrea Espejo, single mother to Alexis Quezada, and Ricardo Espinoza and Mimi Quezada, parents to Lucero and Ricardo, are undocumented immigrants. They will be allowed to return to the United States to serve as witnesses in the case.

The children’s uncle, Policarpo Espinoza, 22, and cousin, Adan Espinoza Canela, 17, were arrested on murder charges but had not been indicted as of Thursday, said Joseph Sviatko, spokesman for the Maryland state’s attorney’s office in Baltimore.

The possibility that the Baltimore slayings were the work of a “copycat” criminal is disturbing, said Tony White, director of Baltimore’s mayor’s office of neighborhoods. But he said that the thought is one that must be confronted to give a stunned community answers.

“The coincidence is alarming. And to think that two crimes of this magnitude happened (so close in) time in two different locations and involving the same number of children. It is just overwhelming.

“You have to take pause,” White said. “You have to take pause and look.”

http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/ts_more.php?id=59771_0_10_0_M

 

[KeyserXSoze]

Bound Bodies Wash Ashore

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/8967749.htm?1c

Bound Bodies That Washed Ashore Puzzling

Associated Press

PLEASANT PRAIRIE, Wis. - The discovery of three bodies lashed together on the shore of Lake Michigan baffled officials who had no reports of missing people or any word of a boat in distress.

Officials said they did not suspect foul play in the deaths of the man and two children found Saturday, tied at the waist with nylon rope.

"If you were in a boating accident, the adult would tie the children to the adult, so they would not get away from the adult," said Pleasant Prairie Fire Chief Paul Guilbert Jr.

The three were fully clothed but not wearing life jackets, said Anthony Riley, petty officer with the U.S. Coast Guard.

Officials said the bodies had been in the water at least several days, and their identities and the gender of the children were not known.

There were no reports of missing boats on Lake Michigan in the past three weeks, and a Coast Guard helicopter sent out Saturday to scan the water found nothing, Riley said.

By Saturday evening, adults and children were milling around the beach in Pleasant Prairie, just north of the Illinois state line.

Donna Van Besien, 16, said she used to swim in the lake but now has second thoughts.

"I think it's creepy," she said.

 

[TheQuixote]

I know it isn't a human death but I think it fits into the strange category nontheless?

Puppy dies after 'starting' fire

A puppy is believed to have started a fire which destroyed a house by jumping onto a gas cooker and igniting a hob.

Norfolk Fire Service said the black Labrador dog died in the incident at Bowthorpe on Friday morning.

Crews forced their way into the house, thinking a person was trapped inside, but found only the puppy.

A brigade spokesman said following a search of the house, the only likely explanation for the fire was that the "dog was to blame".

"I have never come across such an unusual set of circumstances before," he said. "It seems highly unlikely but at the same time it's the only possible explanation.

"There were no electrical faults found with the house."

The dog was pulled from the house, which was extensively damaged by the flames, but firefighters were unable to resuscitate him.

The spokesman added: "It's devastating for the couple who went out to work as normal and within a couple of hours their life had been destroyed and they had lost their beloved dog."

BBCi News 20/06/04

 

[Anonymous]

SHEPHERDSTOWN, West Virginia (AP) -- A man who apparently was pinned by a van he was working on lay dead in his driveway for up to four days before a neighbor noticed him, police said.

Allan P. Burfoot, 57, of Shepherdstown, was found Sunday morning, State Police Trooper H.D. Heil said.

"The parking brake wasn't on and the vehicle wasn't in gear, and it apparently rolled onto him" as he worked on the vehicle, Heil said. He was pinned under the front passenger side tire, he said.

Checking messages on Burfoot's answering machine, investigators believe he was pinned as early as Wednesday, Heil said. Burfoot's closest relative, a sister, lives out of state.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/South/06/21/driveway.death.ap/index.html

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Last update: June 17, 2004 at 11:53 PM

Minneapolis boys swap bikes; dad ends up dead

Jim Adams, Star Tribune
June 18, 2004 BIKE0618

"Little Todd" Copeland, 9, and a pal decided Tuesday that they liked each other's trick bicycles so much that they'd swap. But when their fathers heard about the trade, one didn't like it.

A fight ensued Wednesday night. When it ended, Little Todd's dad, Todd A. Copeland, 28, was dead and a friend had been shot in the arm outside a duplex in the 2900 block of N. 4th St. in Minneapolis' Hawthorne neighborhood.

About noon Thursday, police arrested a 30-year-old man in connection with the shooting. The suspect is a friend of the other father.

Details are still unfolding, but witnesses and police gave this account:

Copeland and his older brother, Michael, 30, were going to talk to other's boy father, who was unhappy that his son's blue trick bike with mag wheels had been traded for a black one that Copeland had put together in his back yard.

Before they met up with the other father, another neighborhood boy told them that Little Todd (whose real name is Don Quarius Copeland) and his friend had settled things.

So Todd Copeland and his brother went to the duplex, and Mike Copeland said that when he left about 8:30 p.m., his brother was drinking beer with friends, including Carlos DeFrance, 18.

A short time later, the other boy's father and his friend knocked on the door of the duplex. When Copeland came out, the father punched him and knocked him down. Copeland got up and chased the father into the street. DeFrance followed.

When the other father's friend pulled a gun, DeFrance and Copeland ran for the house. DeFrance was shot in the arm and was recuperating at home Thursday. Copeland was shot in the neck, side and chest.

In the upstairs unit of the duplex, Tina Kelm, 36, was putting her 1-year-old to bed when she heard shots and called police. Her brother, Joe DeMars, said he heard about four shots.

"Carlos came running in saying, 'I got shot! I got shot!' " DeMars said. He said he found Copeland inside at the bottom of the stairs. Blood stains remained there Thursday.

"I tried to grab him to see where he was shot," DeMars said. "He took three breaths and that was it. It was sad. Over a bike, a lousy, stupid bike."

According to public records, Copeland had several assault convictions in the past, as does the suspect. The suspect's family refused to comment Thursday.

Copeland's family said he was an energetic guy who loved fixing old bikes, bringing home unwanted dogs and spending time with his extended family. Besides his son and his fiancée, he had a 3-year-old daughter.

"He was a free spirit. He had his ups and downs, but he would give you his heart," said his older sister, Jessie Brewer.

His fiancée, Yolanda Thomas, said they planned to get married in a year and move to Brooklyn Center, not too far from their families in north Minneapolis.

Copeland planned to get a GED degree and find work to help pay for their wedding, she added. He had worked a few years ago as a chef. He used to wait for her at the bus stop when she came home from work, she said.

Added Copeland's aunt, Ruth Pendleton: "If everybody would use their anger and energy for the best and not for the worst, all this violence would not be happening."

City Council Member Don Samuels plans to hold a daylong vigil today at the shooting scene at 29th Av. N. and N. 4th St.

http://www.startribune.com/stories/1557/4834589.html

 

[lopaka]

Re: Bound Bodies Wash Ashore

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/8967749.htm?1c

Ruled murder-suicide by the father. What adds a fortean touch to it is the the two little boys were named Davinci and Tesla (Don't have the heart to post to the 'Weird Names' thread.)


PLEASANT PRAIRIE, Wisconsin (AP) -- A father and two sons whose bound bodies washed up on the shore of Lake Michigan drowned in an apparent double murder and suicide, a deputy medical examiner said Monday.

The bodies were bound together with rope and tied to bags filled with sand when a resident spotted them on a beach Saturday. None of the three showed any physical trauma, said Deputy Medical Examiner Rick Berg, citing preliminary autopsy findings.

Kevin L. Amde, 45, and his sons, Tesla E. Amde, 3, and Davinci Amde, 6, were last seen May 6, when the father and younger son picked up the older boy from his school in Chicago, Police Chief Brian Wagner said. Veronica Amde, Kevin Amde's wife and the children's mother, reported them missing May 11.

Wagner said the bodies were tied together with nylon rope. Also tied to the bodies were two nylon book bags, each containing personal belongings, and two plastic bags filled with sand.

The pockets of one child were also filled with sand, Wagner said.

The children's deaths were ruled homicides. Authorities plan further toxicology tests on the father, as well as an investigation, before making a determination on how he died, Berg said.

Investigators have said the amount of time the three were believed to be in the water was consistent with how long they had been missing. Where and how they entered the water remains under investigation.

"At this point, the question of where these folks went into the water remains unanswered," Wagner said. "We may never have the answer to that."

Amde's family was having trouble paying rent for their Chicago apartment and a judge ruled earlier this month they could be evicted.

Copyright 2004 The Associated Press.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/Midwest/06/21/bodies.found.ap/index.html

 

[FelixAntonius]

I don't know if this can be classed as a Strange Death, but I'm suprised the didn't die of his exertions long ago?

Murdered Man fathered 50.

A torso found in a moorland grave has been identified as a four-times married man who fathered up to 50 children.

Lennie Fulbirg, a petty criminal, was 49 when he disappeared in August 1996. His remains were discovered seven months later outside the village of Oxenhope, West Yorks.

Police are examining his love life for a motive.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/06/23/nbul23.xml