‘Two children and their mother lived for about two months with the decaying body of a 90-year-old woman on the toilet of their home’s only bathroom, on the advice of a religious “superior” who claimed the corpse would come back to life, authorities said Friday.
The children—a 15-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy—cried hysterically Wednesday after a deputy who came to their Necedah home looking for Magdeline Alvina Middlesworth ordered them out because of the stench from her body.
The children were in foster care Friday. Their mother, Tammy Lewis, and self-described “bishop” Alan Bushey remained in custody on felony counts of being a party to causing mental harm to a child. [..]
Lewis told the deputy that Middlesworth had died about two months earlier, but that God told her Middlesworth would come to life if she prayed hard enough.
She said she couldn’t say anything more until she spoke with her “superior”—Bushey, 57, also known as Bishop John Peter Bushey.’
‘The world is in shock as news sinks in.
“It’s only a matter of time before your mom kills you and everyone you know.” said Dr. Paul Rathburg, a University professor who is the spokesman for the World Health Organization.
Contact with, or even being in the proximity of your mom is known to trigger acute merman syndrome, sleeping sweats, and a deadly soup of bacteria called gumbo that shoots out of your nostrils.
“We know that your mom needs little time to reach sufficient levels to kill,” Rathburg said.
Rathburg said the first victim was a young man who had a web design job, and worked for a well respected university. “He was perfectly fine when he went to work,” Rathburg said in a telephone interview.
“After about 15 minutes, he had a case of nasal face and collapsed on the floor. The autopsy clearly indicates he died from exposure to your mom,” said Rathburg, who would not disclose the man’s name or the precise place and time of his death for privacy reasons.’
‘The war in Iraq has become “a major debacle” and the outcome “is in doubt” despite improvements in security from the buildup in U.S. forces, according to a highly critical study published Thursday by the Pentagon’s premier military educational institute.
The report released by the National Defense University raises fresh doubts about President Bush’s projections of a U.S. victory in Iraq just a week after Bush announced that he was suspending U.S. troop reductions.
The report carries considerable weight because it was written by Joseph Collins, a former senior Pentagon official, and was based in part on interviews with other former senior defense and intelligence officials who played roles in prewar preparations.
It was published by the university’s National Institute for Strategic Studies, a Defense Department research center.
“Measured in blood and treasure, the war in Iraq has achieved the status of a major war and a major debacle,” says the report’s opening line.’
‘Carl McCunn (1946 – 1981) was a Texan who, in March 1981, paid a bush pilot to drop him at a remote lake near the Coleen River in Alaska, on the southern margin of the Brooks Range, to photograph wildlife.
McCunn flew in with 500 rolls of film, 1,400 pounds of provisions, two rifles and a shotgun, but had not arranged for the pilot to pick him up again in August. He prematurely disposed of boxes of shotgun shells in the river; used the wrong emergency hand signals to a plane that had spotted him and waved the plane off; and waited too long in the season to attempt to walk out.
In February 1982 Alaska State Troopers found his body, emaciated and frozen as hard as stone, along with a 100-page diary that documented his demise. He wrote “I think I should have used more foresight about arranging my departure.” Rather than starve, McCunn had shot himself in the head.’
‘A man who was poisoned March 19 while trying to use mercury to extract gold from computer parts has died and the home is so contaminated that it cannot be lived in, an emergency official said. [..]
The home is located on Winnett Road southeast of Colbert. Winnett and Melissa Lake drove themselves to the hospital after inhaling mercury vapors, according to authorities. [..]
Mercury has a chemical reaction with gold and causes it to separate, according to Dalton. Authorities believe the couple heated the mercury and accidentally inhaled it.
The home was immediately cordoned off after the incident. Dalton said he did not know how much mercury was inside the home, but the residence would have to be gutted before it could ever be used again.’
‘A 12-year-old boy fatally slashed a man who was attacking his mother at the boarding house where they lived, authorities said.
Salomon Noubissie, 64, died at a hospital after he was slashed across the neck Monday night in the home in the Landover area.
Cpl. Diane Richardson, a spokeswoman for Prince George’s County police, said Wednesday that authorities hadn’t decided whether the boy would be charged with anything. They were reviewing the case with the state’s attorney’s office. [..]
The boy said he was not happy with what happened but felt he had no choice.’
‘An 81-year-old man has used an intricate suicide machine to shoot himself remotely, after downloading the plans from the internet.
The Gold Coast man, who lived alone, left notes of his plans and thoughts as he struggled to come to terms with demands by interstate relatives that he move out his home and into care, the Gold Coast Bulletin reports.
He spent hours searching the internet for a way to kill himself, downloaded what he needed and then built a complex machine that would remotely fire a gun. [..]
The machine was attached to a .22 semi-automatic pistol loaded with four bullets.
It was able to fire multiple shots into the man’s head after he activated it.’
‘British science fiction writer Sir Arthur C Clarke has died in his adopted home of Sri Lanka at the age of 90.
The Somerset-born author achieved his greatest fame in 1968 when his short story The Sentinel was turned into the film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
His visions of space travel and computing sparked the imagination of readers and scientists alike.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse paid tribute, hailing the writer as a “great visionary”.
Since 1995, the author had been largely confined to a wheelchair by post-polio syndrome.
He died at 0130 local time (2000 GMT) of respiratory complications and heart failure, according to his aide, Rohan De Silva.’
‘Bone-white stretches of salt, leached up from the lifeless soil, lay like a shroud over the high desert where a paranoid Charles Manson holed up after an orgy of murder nearly four decades ago.
Now, as then, few venture into this alkaline wilderness — gold-diggers, outlaws, loners content to live and let live.
But a determined group of outsiders recently made the trek. They were leading forensic investigators searching for new evidence of death — clues pointing to possible decades-old clandestine graves.
And the results of just-completed followup tests suggest bodies could indeed be lying beneath the parched ground. The test findings — described in detail to The Associated Press, which had accompanied the site search — conclude there are two likely clandestine grave sites at Barker Ranch, and one additional site that merits further investigation.
Next step, the ad hoc investigators urge: Dig.’
‘Grim tales of cannibalism highlighting the brutality of West Africa’s civil wars emerged in testimony Thursday at the war crimes trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor.
art.taylor.afp.gi.jpg
Former Liberian President Charles Taylor, left, sits in the International Criminal Court before testimony in January.
Joseph “Zigzag” Marzah, who described himself as Taylor’s chief of operations and head of the death squad before Taylor became president, said African peacekeepers and even United Nations personnel were killed and eaten on the battlefield by Taylor’s militiamen.
Prosecutors described Marzah as a key witness with inside knowledge of the former Liberian president’s operations in Liberia and neighboring Sierra Leone, where he is accused of responsibility for the widespread murder, rape and amputations committed by soldiers loyal to him.’
‘A man who gave a loaded gun to his suicidal friend to “snap her out of it” and then watched in shock as she killed herself was sentenced Friday to up to five years in prison for his role in her death. [..]
He wiped away tears throughout his sentencing, then apologized to Choquette’s family and his own.
“My deepest condolences and most heartfelt apologies,” he said haltingly, often trailing off to regain his composure. “I had a much better speech, apology, if you want, but that’s really all I can get through at this point.” [..]
When she threatened suicide, he said he tried “calling her bluff” by retrieving and loading a 9mm Beretta he had purchased from her late father. Choquette lifted it to her head and killed herself just a few feet away from him.
He told police her last words were: “I’m going to do it, and you’re going to watch.”‘
‘An Indiana father has been jailed for allegedly forcing his 7-year-old daughter to kill the family’s cat.
The cat, named Boots, was stabbed to death last Sunday.
According to the arrest affidavit, Daniel Collins said he wanted his children to “learn how to kill.”
Police said Collins gave his son the knife first, but the 11-year-old boy hid the cat and put ketchup on the knife to simulate blood.
They said that when the father realized the cat was still alive, he forced the knife into his daughter’s hand and made her stab the cat.
Police said Collins finally stabbed and strangled the cat himself and had his son throw the carcass in the trash.’
‘Britain’s biggest teachers’ union has accused the Ministry of Defence of breaking the law over a lesson plan drawn up to teach pupils about the Iraq war. The National Union of Teachers claims it breaches the 1996 Education Act, which aims to ensure all political issues are treated in a balanced way.
Teachers will threaten to boycott military involvement in schools at the union’s annual conference next weekend, claiming the lesson plan is a “propaganda” exercise and makes no mention of any civilian casualties as a result of the war.
They believe the instructions, designed for use during classroom discussions in general studies or personal, social and health education (PSE) lessons, are arguably an attempt to rewrite the history of the Iraq invasion just as the world prepares to mark its fifth anniversary.’
‘A man beat and slashed his mother because he feared she would have him arrested for taking her computer, then read the Bible to her as he watched her die, state police said.
Jesse James Campbell told friends that he wanted to kill his mother, Cindy Jo Coleman, because she demanded that he return a computer he stole from her by 8 a.m. Thursday, police said.
Campbell went to his mother’s home before the deadline, grabbed a five-pound plastic weight and hit Coleman repeatedly in the face with it, police said. He also choked his mother and then grabbed a steak knife and stabbed her, police said.
Campbell later told his girlfriend things “got messy” when he confronted his mother about the computer and that he read his mother the Bible as she lay dying, police said.’
‘North Korea has executed 22 fishermen who strayed out of the country’s waters by mistake, it was claimed yesterday.
The group were apparently gunned down once they returned to the Stalinist state.
Having drifted into South Korean territory, they had the opportunity to seek asylum, but insisted they never had any intention of doing so.
They told South Korean officials they had strayed accidentally while fishing for clams and oysters, so were sent back to North Korea – and to their deaths.
A South Korean newspaper reported yesterday that all the drifters were immediately shot dead in a secret location by agents of North Korea’s national security agency.
It was another alleged incident supporting claims that North Korea has a “no tolerance” policy against anyone suspected of trying to leave the country – even in error.’
‘A baker who put abortion tablets into his wife’s breakfast to try to make her lose their baby has been jailed.
Gil Magira, 36, crushed the tablets into his 38-year-old wife Anat Abraham’s sandwich, a bowl of cereal and a yoghurt, the Old Bailey was told.
Mrs Abraham suffered pain and bleeding but the child survived unharmed.
Magira, of Holmebrook Drive, Hendon, north London, admitted “using an instrument to procure a miscarriage” – the first such charge in 30 years. [..]
His wife said she feared for her life – and that of the child – when she realised what he had done.
“What made it worse was how desperate and determined he was to try to kill the baby that I already felt moving inside me,” she said.’
‘A man beheaded his 15-month-old nephew in front of his mother in a supermarket in Saudi Arabia apparently after a family dispute, newspapers reported.
The 25-year-old Syrian national picked up a knife from the store in the Red Sea city of Jeddah yesterday and decapitated the little boy in full view of shoppers, Arab News said.
The man apparently killed the little boy following a dispute with the man’s sister and brother-in-law, the English-language daily said.
“He chopped off the boy’s head in front of the mother to get back at her,” a police officer was quoted as saying. The mother fainted and was taken to hospital.’
‘The death of Meredith Hunter, an 18-year-old black man who clashed with members of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang guarding a rock-concert stage while The Rolling Stones played “Under My Thumb,” spelled the end of the cultural phenomenon that was the 1960’s, according to many observers. But it also led to an assassination plot against Mick Jagger, according to a former F.B.I. agent who is featured in an upcoming BBC report.
In the aftermath of the ugly incident at the Altamont Speedway in California, which was famously captured on film by documentary filmmakers Albert and David Maysles, the Stones did not use the Hells Angels for security again, and did not support them in the finger-pointing that followed Mr. Hunter’s death. A group of the bikers were evidently outraged enough to want to kill Mr. Jagger, so they set out for his vacation home in the Hamptons, according to Mark Young, the former F.B.I. agent.
“A group of them took a boat, and were all tooled up and planned to attack him from the sea,” Tom Mangold, the host of the BBC program featuring Mr. Young, told The Sunday Telegraph. “They planned the attack from the sea so they could enter his property from the garden and avoid security at the front.”‘
‘Would Julius Caesar or John F. Kennedy have survived if they were attacked in Billings today?
Dr. Terry Housinger, a general surgeon at the Billings Clinic, tackled the topic of famous assassinations at a meeting of the History of Medicine Club, offering his audience of medical students and doctors a chance to reflect on the evolution of trauma care.
After describing the circumstances surrounding each famous assassination, Housinger offered his opinion on whether modern medicine could have saved those high-profile victims if the attack had occurred in Billings today.’
‘man was killed Sunday when he accidentally stabbed himself while cooking.
Chief Deputy Coroner Charlie Boseman said that Michael Downing, 32, was cooking food for himself and his 8- and 10-year-old sons on Sunday afternoon while his fiance was at work.
Downing burned himself, jerked his hand away and accidentally stabbed himself with a steak knife that he was holding in his hand, Boseman said.
Downing was able to call 911 and explained what had happened. Downing’s 10-year-old son got on the phone with the dispatcher and followed instructions to try to save his father. [..]
Boseman said that the knife had pierced Downing’s heart, causing his death. He said that the knife went between Downing’s ribs, 2 to 3 inches into his chest.’
‘PGA tour golfer Tripp Isenhour has been charged in Orlando with intentionally killing a protected bird with a golf shot from about 75 yards away.
The incident happened in December at Grand Cypress Golf Club while Isenhour, 39, was filming a video segment for his television show “Shoot Like A Pro.”
Prosecutors said a red-shouldered hawk was making noise, forcing a video crew to film another take.
Isenhour, who earned nearly $500,000 on the PGA tour in 2007, initially attempted to hit the bird from about 300 yards away, according to a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission report obtained by Web site The Smoking Gun.
Those attempts failed, but the hawk flew to a tree closer to Isenhour and again began chirping, prompting Isenhour to say, “I’ll get him now,” according to the report.’
‘The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is under fire after raiding the homes of two Victorians suffering from terminal illnesses.
Controversial euthanasia campaigner Doctor Philip Nitschke says AFP officers executed search warrants on 78-year-old Don Flounders of Warragul, and 54-year-old Angie Belecciu of Hastings on Wednesday after the pair announced on television they planned to end their own lives.
Mr Flounders suffers from the asbestos-related disease mesothelioma and Ms Belecciu is terminally ill with breast cancer.
Dr Nitschke says he received a panicked phone call from Mr Flounders this morning as the AFP raids were taking place.
“He called me saying ‘there are people in my house, what do I do’,” Dr Nitschke said.’
‘Three times in less than a year, three right feet inside running shoes have been found on separate islands in the Strait of Georgia.
Police don’t know if there are any links between them. Speculation in the region is rife, including that the feet were from slaying victims or they were the remains from drownings. Police haven’t reached any conclusions.
”It is very unusual,” Royal Canadian Mounted Police Constable Annie Linteau said Tuesday.
”We’re looking into all our missing person files,” Linteau said.’
‘Australia has once again been criticised by groups at an international conference on cluster bombs, after proposing some of the weapons be allowed to be used for training and testing purposes.
The Australian delegation told the conference in New Zealand’s capital Wellington on Thursday that a treaty to ban cluster munitions should include some exceptions.
“Training is essential for Australia to make a contribution to humanitarian operations,” a representative of the Australian delegation told the meeting.
The proposal was supported by seven other countries, who are among a group of nations accused of frustrating the process at Wellington. [..]
John Rodsted from the key pressure group the Cluster Munition Coalition, which represents numerous non-governmental groups, told AAP that Australia’s position was illogical.
“Australia doesn’t have a stockpile, but they are arguing that they need to retain a stockpile, which means they would have to acquire a stockpile,” he said.’
‘Castro once said: “If surviving assassination were an Olympic event, I’d win the gold medal.”
His bodyguard Fabian Escalante went back through his records and counted 638 attempts to kill the Cuban leader.
Many of them were confirmed in CIA files which were declassified last year.
President Kennedy was said to have asked James Bond creator Ian Fleming for tips on how to wipe out Castro – and many of the attempts to kill or discredit him seem more appropriate to a bad Bond spoof than real life.’
‘A building superintendent in the Bronx with a history of mental illness strangled his 14-year-old daughter and tried to burn her body in the building’s incinerator, the police said on Saturday.
The man, identified as Miguel Matias, 34, told officers that he had lost his temper and killed his daughter because he found her sending instant messages to a boy, the police said. Her name was not released. [..]
Mr. Matias called 911 on Saturday about 10 a.m. to say that he had killed his daughter, the police said. He said he had put her body in the woods, but officers discovered the girl’s body on fire in the incinerator in the boiler room of the building, at 1005 Walton Avenue in the South Bronx, near Yankee Stadium, the police said.
The authorities said that Mr. Matias had been placed in an institution years ago after he poured gasoline in a car while he and two children were inside, including the 14-year-old whom he was accused of killing.’
‘The man accused of murdering a model said he was “totally disgusted” with himself for having sex with her corpse.
Mark Dixie, accused of killing Sally Anne Bowman, said he did not realise she was dead until after he had sex with her body, the Old Bailey heard.
He said he became suspicious when the teenager did not react to bites on her face and body.
Mr Dixie, 37, denies murdering the 18-year-old in Croydon, south London, during a sex attack, in September 2005.
Giving evidence, he said: “I don’t know what went through my mind. I took full advantage of someone and I should not have done it.”‘
‘A Central Florida woman whose 17-year-old daughter was killed in a murder-suicide apparently committed by her ex-boyfriend said the teen was told by police to stop calling for help or she’d be arrested.
Police said Clay Coffner shot his estranged girlfriend, Natasha Hall, in the head outside her DeLand home Friday before turning the gun on himself.
Hall’s mother, Sherry, said her daughter was concerned about Coffner and informed police.
In fact, Hall said her daughter called police so much that on Jan. 15 they threatened her.
“The police officer said if you call us one more time on him, I’m going to arrest you both,” Sherry Hall said. “So, the day she died, she knew she couldn’t talk to police. So, she handled it herself.”‘
‘Police say a Parks Department employee took his city-issued golf cart on a rampage, running over and killing five birds in a public park.
Police said they arrested the 45-year-old employee Friday evening after receiving complaints that he was driving erratically in the park in Lower Manhattan. He faces charges of reckless endangerment and intentional injury to an animal.
Three pigeons and two seagulls were killed.’
‘A batch of old documents linked to the slaying of US President John F Kennedy has reportedly been unearthed, the Dallas Morning News said.
The documents are said to include a highly suspect transcript of a conversation between assassin Lee Harvey Oswald and Oswald’s killer Jack Ruby.
The newspaper said the Dallas County district attorney’s office, which uncovered the documents, would display its discovery at a news conference tomorrow.
The Morning News said the items found in an old safe in a Dallas courthouse included personal letters from former district attorney Henry Wade, the prosecutor in the Ruby trial. Ruby shot Oswald two days after the president’s death.
Also found were official records from Ruby’s trial, a gun holster and clothing that probably belonged to Ruby and Oswald, district attorney Craig Watkins told the newspaper.
But one potentially controversial item is a transcript of an exchange between Oswald and Ruby in which they discuss killing Kennedy to halt the mafia-busting agenda of his brother, attorney-general Robert Kennedy.’
