Teenager hangs himself after listening to 'death metal music with dark lyrics which glorified death'

A schoolboy killed himself after listening to death metal on his iPod, an inquest has heard.

Truman Edley,pictured above who was just 15 at the time of his death, hanged himself in the hallway of the family home in Rotherham after he had been listening to the violent music.

A coroner refused to name the band he was listening to or publish the extreme lyrics which formed part of the evidence at the inquest in Rotherham.

The official also noted that Truman had been suffering from a number of problems, and his mother said that he had 'self-esteem' issues.

The teenager, who was named after American indie band Trumans Waters, frequently listened to death metal through headphones.'

She discovered his body at their home in November 2011, two months after she had found him sobbing in his bedroom wardrobe.

On another occasion, she found scratches on his arm - he said that he had done it while messing around in the woods, but two friends asked him to visit a youth support service, fearing he had been self-harming.

Mrs Edley described her son as 'loving' and said he was fiercely protective of his loved ones.

'He was one of the most kind, loving and caring people,' she said. 'We told each other that we loved each other every day.

'He became a stereotypical teenager, like the Harry Enfield character Kevin. He was more interested in spending time with friends and took increasing pride in his appearance.'

But she added: 'His self-esteem was low. He didn't like himself or they way he looked very much. On the outside he showed a lot of confidence, but on the inside he was a lot more sensitive.'
Rotherham Magistrates' Court (pictured) heard that Ross told police that Mr Daniel had approached him from behind and tapped him, which led him to believe that he was being attacked

Coroner Fred Curtis, who recorded a verdict of suicide at the inquest in Rotherham, commented on Truman's musical tastes saying: 'I'm not going to read the lyrics out, all I will say about them is they are extremely dark in content.

'They certainly deal with dark matters and, in some respects, seem to glorify death to some degree.

'It's also the view of the police officers in this case and Truman's mother who, not surprisingly was unaware of the content until after his death.

'Whatever the influences, I think it right that one can say there was no appreciation by anyone of the extent of his troubles and problems.

'There may be other factors behind these problems but I think the only person who can answer for those is Truman himself.'


PC Glyn Farrell, who attended the scene of the death, said he was a fan of death metal but admitted it could be depressive.

'I do listen to that sort of music myself, which has a lot of screaming with heavy guitar sounds,' he told the hearing. 'It can have an effect on people.'

Det Sgt Peter Hogson told the coroner: 'There seemed to be two Trumans. The outgoing one was a happy, bubbly joker who would make people laugh, was very well-liked and had a wide group of good friends.

'But then there seemed to be another, more fragile and sensitive individual who kept things from his family and bottled them up.'

Toxicology tests came back negative, and although a scribbled note was found at the scene it was unclear when it had been written.
Culled from DAILY MAIL

Google users lose access to their email as 'disruption' hits search giant

Google's mail and application services are unavailable to some users, the search giant has admitted.

The company says it is investigating the problems, but doesn't know their cause.

Google's apps status dashboard shows that its Mail, Drive file storage service and office-application services are 'disrupted.'

Its administrator control panel, which lets companies manage their Google applications, is completely down.

The disruptions started affecting people worldwide around 8 a.m. Eastern time (noon GMT).
Google says it's 'working hard to restore normal operation.'
The company disclosed on its website that six of its 13 applications were having partial status disruptions.

However, it is believed the number of users affected was small - the issue with Gmail, for example, is believed to be affecting less than 0.007 percent of Google Mail users, who cannot access their accounts.

Culled from DAILYMAIL

How husband and wife committed suicide in 'Romeo and Julie't pact'

A husband who committed suicide with his wife in a 'Romeo and Juliet' pact had sent a text message revealing they planned to kill themselves to a mental health worker the night before.

But the message sent by Christopher Stonehouse, 44, on November 7 last year was not read until the following day and mental health officials have been questioned over the delay.

An inquest heard he was found dead alongside his wife Alphira, 27, in their bedroom on November 8, with the couple having left a note signed 'Romeo and Juliet'.
A copy of the play, with a passage highlighted, was also found next to their bodies and a Romeo and Juliet DVD had been playing on the television.

The evening before, Mr Stonehouse sent mental health worker Damian Walsh a text message, which read: 'Alphira and I have chosen to end our lives.

'We have suffered for too long and cannot bear it any longer. Our backdoor and gate are unlocked.'
The inquest into Mrs Stonehouse's death heard that Mr Walsh did not see the message or that he missed calls from Mr Stonehouse until around 9am the following morning, when he was scheduled to see him.

Concerned at the message, Mr Walsh said he first tried to call Mr Stonehouse but it diverted to voicemail, then sent him a text message but again failed to get a reply.

Police were eventually alerted and found the couple, who married in 2005 and had been in regular contact with mental health professionals, dead in their two-bedroom home in Whyke Marsh, Chichester, West Sussex.

Detective Sergeant Sally Arbuckle said in a statement that a note found read: 'Unless you are the emergency services, do not enter. Alphira and Chris, aka Romeo and Juliet.'
A post-mortem examination on Mrs Stonehouse - who was her husband's full-time carer - found she died from an overdose of prescription drugs.

At a separate inquest into Mr Stonehouse's death last week, a suicide verdict was recorded.

Today, Mrs Stonehouse's mother, Deborah Jacobs, questioned why the text message revealing the suicidal intentions of the couple was not acted upon sooner.

She asked Mr Walsh: 'If Chris had sent you 34 texts before this one and none had given any indication of wanting to take their own lives, why didn't you call 999?'

Mr Walsh said Mr Stonehouse left the message on his work mobile phone the evening before their deaths after he had finished for the day and he read it the following morning.

He added that a full investigation had been launched and that part of it would centre on whether a new policy needs to be drafted relating to mobile phone use.

Mrs Jacobs said her 'headstrong' daughter left the family home aged 18 and met Mr Stonehouse through her and his wife at the time.

'Alphira and I spent a lot of time at loggerheads with each other,' said Mrs Jacobs, from Redhill, Surrey.
'Both of us are strong-minded and we clashed, and Chris would take her under his wing because Alphira and I weren't getting on particularly well.'

Eventually, Mr Stonehouse and his wife split and he formed a relationship with Mrs Stonehouse, who was 17 years his junior, an arrangement Mrs Jacobs said she 'didn't entirely' approve of.

She added: 'She was an adult and there was nothing I could do.'

Contact between mother and daughter diminished as Mrs Jacobs said 'a lot of animosity' existed between them.

'There were several olive branches and several reconciliations but after a short period it would go back to her being quite mean towards me,' Mrs Jacobs went on.
Mr Walsh said Mr and Mrs Stonehouse came to see him in April last year seeking help after a 'significant development' in their lives which was not expanded upon at the inquest.

The issue meant that they had to give a police statement, he said. 'Both were distressed about those matters.'

Dr Isabel Fernandez de Sifrim told the inquest that Mrs Stonehouse had taken an overdose and cut her wrist in a previous suicide bid.
When she saw her on May 31, Mrs Stonehouse was having trouble sleeping, suffering from anxiety and experiencing psychotic episodes.

'All the symptoms were related to something that had happened very recently,' she said. 'It was a kind of trigger. She had panic attacks and she wasn't in control.'

With anti-depressants, her condition started to improve and the 'risk factors' disappeared slowly, with her thoughts turning positively to her future, including having children and contacting her father again.

'I didn't think she was going to commit suicide,' the doctor went on.

Recording a verdict that Mrs Stonehouse took her own life, West Sussex coroner Penelope Schofield said: 'I have to be satisfied beyond all reasonable doubt that a person intended to take their own life.

'I wanted to be sure that Alphira had not been coerced into this.

'It appears to me that she was able to make up her own mind at the time of her death, and although Mr Stonehouse was some 17 years her senior this was something that she would have undertaken of her accord.'

Culled from DAILYMAIL

26yr old man who had penis drawn on his face while asleep was killed by a single punch

A DJ killed a man after waking up at a party to find a penis had been drawn on his face, the Old Bailey heard.

Vanessa Barrows, who had hosted the ten-hour party at her flat in Tooting, south London, told the court everyone at the party was enjoying themselves.

But the joke turned sour when the 'boy banter' got out of hand and party-goer Anthony Thompson, 26, (pictured above) was punched to the ground outside.

Mr Thompson's head struck the floor and he died from brain damage, jurors heard.


Thomas Evans, 32, from Morden, Surrey, denies manslaughter following the all-night party in February last year, claiming self-defence.
She said Mr Evans had fallen asleep in an armchair when morning approached and some condoms had fallen out of his pocket.

She added: 'I got my lipstick out and drew a penis on his face. It was done for a laugh.'

Miss Barrows said that when Evans woke up, he had seen the funny side of it.

She also nodded off and woke to find a row going on. She said: 'It was just silly boy banter between Anthony and Tom.

'Anthony was saying about who was stronger than who. It was a joke. They were friends.'


Miss Barrows said Mr Thompson had been trying to wind Evans up, while Evans was not reacting and was trying to calm things down.

After people started to leave, she heard scuffling outside and found Mr Thompson on the ground when she got downstairs.

Peter Clement, prosecuting, said that when Evans woke up he seemed to take the drawing on his face in 'good spirits'.


As the banter continued, Mr Thompson was heard to say in bravado: 'I can knock any one of you blokes out.'

Evans replied: 'You couldn't knock me out.'

Mr Clement added: 'That set off a chain of events.'

The trial continues.

Culled from MAILONLINE

Judge dies of heart attack few weeks after sentencing British grandmother to death for drug-smuggling

The judge who sentenced British grandmother Lindsay Sandiford to death for drug-smuggling has died unexpectedly at the age of 55.

Amser Simanjuntak, a senior official in Bali,(pictured above), was known to be extremely keen on the death penalty - meaning that Sandiford could have escaped with a lesser punishment if her trial had been delayed.

He was found dead at his home on Friday after suffering a suspected heart attack, three months after sentenced the Briton to be executed by firing squad.Legal sources said that the Denpasar District Court judge had a reputation for issuing unexpectedly severe sentences in high-profile trials.

Therefore, if Sandiford's trial had not taken place until after his death, she would probably have received a more lenient sentence from a different judge. Just three days before his death, Mr Simanjuntak told Bali Daily that his decision to ignore the 15-year prison sentence recommended by the prosecution was based on the evidence against the 56-year-old British woman.
Lindsay Sandiford
(picured above) is awaiting execution in a jail cell in Bali after being sentenced to death


'She was trying to smuggle a lot of drugs into Bali,' he said of the 11lb of cocaine she was caught with at the airport. 'I thought that the sentence was appropriate with what she had done.

'Drug smuggling is a crime that has a huge impact on the people here in our country. That's why I committed to give a heavy sentence to any drug smuggler.'Three other Britons who Sandiford said were involved in the smuggling attempt received sentences ranging from just one year to six years.

She said at the weekend that she would prefer to be shot sooner rather than wait for many months as her appeal process drags on.

During his long career on the bench, the judge delivered numerous controversial death sentences and issued many severe verdicts.

Last November, he served on a panel of judges that issued a surprise ruling which sentenced to death a husband and wife for the murder of their employers.While serving in central Java between 2004 and 2008 he handed down his first death sentence after finding a man guilty of murdering a son of a local Muslim leader.

The father of four lived alone at the Bali court's housing complex while his wife and children continued to live in the city of Yogyakarta.

Police said initial investigations following the discovery of the judge's body in his home had failed to find any evidence of foul play. His family are understood to have refused a full autopsy.
Culled from DAILY MAIL

Surgeons give new face to 'monster-face' girl in India

People called Bhawana Thami, who is now nine years old, names like 'monster' because she was born with a rare condition that left half of her face covered with hair.

The condition was the result of a rare mole disease which left untreated would have become cancerous.

If that wasn't enough, the family who lives in the Dolakha district, some 345km from Kathmandu, in Nepal suffered from the villagers' belief that a child with such an appearance must have been a witch and were therefore isolated from the community. Her protective father Kaluman went so far as to never allow his daughter to look into a mirror but one day a journalist who took her photo and showed it to her causing the then eight-year-old disgust, fear and shock. But Bhawana has now undergone plastic surgery which her father hopes will help her to begin leading a normal life.

The first operation was carried out in Kathmandu with the support of charity Child Workers in Nepal last year. A year later she has had her second operation which completely removed the hair from her face.

However, she will have to have a third operation when she turns 14.


She has already returned to her village and been seen playing with other children.

Bhawana's appearance is changing every day since her operations took place and now she enjoys activities at school and local villagers have finally accepted her and her family into the community.
Culled from DAILY MAIL

Pregnant mother kills hersef and her 3 kids 'cause her boyfriend 'jilted' her

A heavily pregnant mother jumped to her death yesterday after apparently killing her three young children.

Hours earlier, Fiona Anderson pictured above, had posted desperate Facebook messages saying her partner had left her for another woman.

The 23-year-old put up photographs of her three children, pictured in-set above, with the message: ‘Mummy will always love you and I’ll never leave you.’But she was found dead at the foot of a car park at 8am after apparently throwing herself from the multi-storey building

Police officers were dispatched to her home half a mile away and found the bodies of her children – Levina, three, Addy, two, and Kyden, 11 months.In her Facebook postings, Miss Anderson issued an emotional plea to Craig McLelland, the father of her children.

‘All we did was love you,’ she wrote. ‘We never gave up on you. You have hurt us so much for so long. I gave you everything I could. Your kids worshipped you like a god.’ Miss Anderson then posted pictures of each of her children and wrote messages about how much she loved them.

‘The most beautiful things I have ever seen. Love you babies so much,’ she wrote.

In a final message she posted a scan picture of a baby and wrote that she was due to give birth on June 10 to a girl she would call Evalie.Last night, Mr McLelland arrived at Miss Anderson’s home close to the seafront in Lowestoft, Suffolk.

Choking back tears, he said: ‘I have just lost my family. My children are dead. What would you be feeling?

‘I found out this morning when I got a phone call saying somebody had committed suicide and I had a feeling who it was.’

When asked whether he had left Miss Anderson for another woman, Mr McLelland, who lives in Lowestoft, broke down and declined to comment.Miss Anderson is thought to have fallen 40ft to her death in Gordon Road. Her children were found three hours later.


Mr Mc Lelland (Pictured above)


Police are awaiting the results of post-mortem examinations to be carried out by a Home Office pathologist at the James Paget Hospital in Gorleston near Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.

Detective Superintendent John Brocklebank, of the Norfolk and Suffolk major investigation team, last night described the Mr Brocklebank said police were alerted by a 999 call from a member of the public who found a woman lying on the ground beside the car park with serious injuries.

He added: ‘Emergency services including ambulances and an air ambulance arrived and they did what they could to try and resuscitate her, but unfortunately she was pronounced dead at the scene.

‘We managed to identify the lady concerned which led us to the address. Police officers gained access at 11.20am and the bodies of the children were tragically found inside.

‘I don’t want to speculate about how they died and where the bodies were in the property. We believe she was the mother of the young children.’ Miss Anderson’s ground floor flat was cordoned off by police last night while officers searched for clues.

Neighbours and friends were last night putting cuddly toys and flowers on a makeshift shrine outside the flat in a mark of respect.

Karleigh Burlingham, 20, who lives nearby, said: ‘She was a lovely person.

‘She just didn’t seem the sort of mother to do this. It is devastating that three innocent little children have died.‘I knew her for three or four years and I thought she was a brilliant mother.

‘Her kids were healthy and well brought up. Fiona was outgoing and friendly. She would talk to anyone and she was very laid back.

‘But her boyfriend left her about a month or so ago for someone else. She was heavily pregnant with a baby girl due next month.’

For confidential support about depression, call the Samaritans on 0845 790 9090 or visit a local Samaritans branch. Or click here to visit the charity's website.
Culled from DAILY MAIL

HIV positive man kills wife and son over fear that he had infected them with AIDS

A man charged with fatally stabbing his wife and adult son in their suburban Phoenix home told investigators he carried out the killings out of a fear he had given his wife HIV from prostitutes he used to frequent and out of concern about what would become of his jobless son.

Investigators said in court records that Eugene Maraventano, pictured above, believed his wife, Janet Maraventano, 63, was ill and feared she might test positive for cancer or a disease he had given her from prostitutes he slept with when he worked for a rail line in New York.

Eugene Maraventano,64, who planned to kill himself after killing his wife, wondered what would become of his son, Bryan Maraventano, 27, after his suicide, explaining that his son played video games all day and had no girlfriend or job, according to a court document filed by police. Bryan Maraventano lived with his parents.

Police say they haven't yet been able to confirm whether Eugene Maraventano had HIV or whether Janet Maraventano had any ailments that her husband said he was worried about.

Eugene Maraventano made several unsuccessful suicide attempts after the killings and called authorities Saturday to say he had carried out the stabbing deaths a few days earlier, police said.

"I killed my wife and I killed my son," the police document quotes Maraventano as telling a dispatcher.

Maraventano acknowledged getting a 14-inch knife from the kitchen of his two-story stucco home in Goodyear and going into the upstairs master bedroom, where he stabbed his sleeping wife twice. He then attacked his son after the son answered a knock on his bedroom door from his father, according to the police record. The knife was found on the nightstand in the master bedroom.

Maraventano was treated at a hospital for injuries he suffered during his suicide attempts and is now in jail on $2 million bail. It's unclear whether Maraventano has an attorney.

He told investigators that he and his wife hadn't been fighting the night of the killing.

Neighbors said Maraventano and his family were "friendly" and "really nice people" and they were shocked to hear of the killings.

"There was nothing negative to associate with Geno and his family," said Phil Wesson, who lives two houses away from the Maraventano home. "There was no sign of anything for me. I knew him as the most likeable guy."

Nicole Schwartz, another neighbor, told Phoenix TV station KSAZ that she was "in shock ... that something like that would happen in our neighborhood."

Culled from HUFF POSTS

Father 'murdered three-yr-old daughter after finding out her mother was having an affair'

A father who discovered his girlfriend was cheating on him battered their three-year-old daughter to death, a court heard today.
-
Richard Green, 22, pictured above, subjected Lia Green, pictured in-set above,to 'significant physical abuse' after learning girlfriend Natalie Critchley also pictured above was having an affair with a parent at a children's nursery where she worked, it was said.

Lia was rushed to hospital in August last year after she was found unresponsive and not breathing.

She died shortly after being admitted to the Royal Preston Hospital.

Doctors discovered Lia had a significant number of bruises to her neck, chest, abdomen, both arms, both legs, buttocks and back caused by deliberate blows. Part of her bowel had been completely severed.

Green, who is on trial at Preston Crown Court, denies murder and allowing the death of a child.

His girlfriend is also accused of allowing the death of a child, which she denies.

A post mortem found Lia died from a blunt force abdominal trauma injury.

Lia was taken to the Royal Preston Hospital on August 30 with a swollen abdomen and was slightly stiff with dark, dry vomit around her nose and mouth.

Doctors attempted to resuscitate her but she was already dead.

Peter Wright QC, prosecuting, told the court: 'Richard Green and Natalie Critchley only contacted emergency services when they realised Lia's condition had deteriorated to such an extent that it could no longer be concealed.

'It's a sad feature of this case that had they acted more swiftly then Lia's life could have been saved but they chose to try to conceal what happened.'

At the hospital Critchley's behaviour was described by nurses as 'strange' with her 'pre-occupied' with text messaging while her daughter lay dead in the treatment room.
The court was told that in the run up to Lia's death, Green was 'very upset and angry' and wrote messages on his Facebook account about Critchley's 'affair'.

Mr Wright told the court: 'We might say that Green found caring for the child was a considerable strain.

'It would seem she was having an affair with a man who had a child at nursery and in a period leading up to death of Lia we say there was considerable friction between the parents. The relationship continued but was far from harmonious.'There was simmering resentment. Resentment [that] was hardly helped with the addition of looking after Lia. When Lia's body was examined her injuries were not down to some freak or terrible accident but blunt force.

'We say it was blindingly obvious that something extremely serious and dire was likely to happen in that household and something extremely dire did happen to Lia.'

The court was told Lia was left in the care of Green after he pulled her out of nursery.

In November 2011, Critchley, 20, started a full-time job as a nursery assistant at Small Wonders 2, while Green was unemployed.

The court was told that a month before Lia's death, he rang her nursery and said his daughter would not be attending again.

Mr Wright said: 'He informed the nursery that he had discovered that Natalie was seeing the parent of a child from the nursery and that Natalie would not be returning to work.

'He was clearly very upset by this discovery, angry with Natalie and made remarks on his Facebook account that were able to be read by others.'Critchley received reassurance from her employer about her job but Lia was not allowed back to nursery due to unpaid fees.

The youngster was then left in the care of Green while her mother was at work and on occasions was cared for by her grandmother or a nursery colleague.

Two weeks before her death, a social worker visited the family home following a referral but had no concerns for Lia's safety.

On August 15, five days after the visit, nursery manager Vicky Waterhouse received a text from Critchley, which appeared to have been drafted by Green, implying all was not well between the couple.

Mr Wright said: 'On a visit she saw some damage to the wall of the premises Green admitted causing.

'Asked if okay he said "no I'm not with her".'

The day before Lia was found dead, Green went to the nursery and was said to be 'mad and swearing'.

He told the staff they had to send Ms Critchley home because Lia was being sick.

Mr Wright said: 'The assistant said he looked like a parent who couldn't cope, they had never seen him like that shouting, swearing and raising his voice.'

The court heard when Lia's body was examined doctors discovered trauma to her abdomen that had been delivered with such force that causes extensive and fatal internal injuries.

Lia was found to be extensively bruised and many were less than 48 hours old and some were older.

The court was told that the day before her death records showed the home computer had searched the NHS Direct website with the term: 'Three-year-old hurting head and being sick' and a local surgery called but it was closed.

Green was arrested the next day but told officers his daughter had fallen while on swings at the park.
Both he and Critchley deny any responsibility for their daughter's death.
Mr Wright told the jury that, irrespective of whose 'hand or fist or boot' delivered the fatal injury, it was 'blindingly obvious' something 'dire' was likely to happen in that household and should not have been allowed to happen.

'We say it would be obvious to any parent that their child was extremely unwell and in need of medical assistance.

'The fact that no medical assistance was obtained until it was too late speaks volumes in this case as to the responsibility of both parents in the events that led to Lia's death.'

Russell Bennet, the first paramedic on the scene at the house, said he and a colleague got Lia into the ambulance to carry out chest compressions but the ECG monitor gave a 'flat-line' response showing the heart had stopped.

Mr Bennet told the jury he asked Critchley how long she had been in this 'state'.

'She told us the child had been unwell recently, had been to see a GP and the child had been up and about and playing 10 to 15 minutes prior to the 999 call.

'My impression was the child had been deceased for longer than the 15 minutes we were told.'

Green denies murder and allowing the death of a child and Critchley denies allowing the death of a child.

The trial, scheduled to last up to six weeks, was adjourned until tomorrow morning.
Culled from DAILY MAIL

Mother, 54, choked to death after swallowing boiled egg in pub eating competition

A popular mother died after choking on a boiled egg during a pub eating contest.

54 years old Sharon Dixon, pictured above, was taking part in the egg eating competition at the Wellington Arms, Grimsby, when she began to choke.

Frantic friends and bar staff dialled 999 around 2pm on Easter Monday after Sharon began to turn blue during the competition.Ms Dixon was rushed to hospital but died two days later.

Her daughter Toni today thanked those who attempted to save her mother's life.

She said: 'I have seen CCTV footage of what happened and it’s clear her friends and everyone there did all they could to help mum. She was surrounded by her friends. 'I do think more people should learn first aid though. If more people have this knowledge, it may stop incidents like this from happening in the future.'

Meanwhile Ms Dixon's friends lead tributes to the former pub landlady.

Jackie Cook, who had known Sharon for more than 20 years, said: “She would do anything for anybody. She was very strong willed and always there for anybody that needed help.

'All her life she was happy and full of life, she was up for anything. Everybody knew her and she knew everybody.

'We all called her Big Shaz. We all loved her, we are all one big family down here and she was a major part of that family.

'She used to be landlady for many pubs and even then she would do the rounds and go in every pub to see everyone.

'She would start at one end of Freeman Street and would go in every pub. I knew her for more than 20 years, I worked with her and I lived with her at one point.'

A close friend, who didn’t wish to be named said: “Sharon was a lovely woman. Nobody would have a bad word to say about her. We were very close.

'Everybody will have a story to tell about her. She was full of life.'

Culled from DAILY MAIL

The world's first womb transplant patient to know her 'pregnancy status' wednesday

A woman will this week find out if she is pregnant after receiving the world’s first womb transplant.

Derya Sert, a married housewife from Turkey (pictured above), who was born without a womb, has undergone IVF treatment and doctors will reveal the results of a pregnancy test this week.

If positive, the news of the 22-year-old’s pregnancy will herald a world-first and will bring hope to thousands of British women without a womb.

Mrs Sert made medical history in August 2011 by becoming the first woman to have a successful womb transplant, receiving a new uterus from a dead donor.

Doctors waited 18 months to start fertility treatment and on Monday implanted a fertilised embryo into her new womb.

Professor Omer Ozkan, who carried out the procedures at Akdeniz University in Antalya, Turkey, said that blood tests would reveal within days whether the embryo – one of Mrs Sert’s eggs fertilised with her husband’s sperm – would lead to a pregnancy.

The result of the tests are likely to be announced to the world on Wednesday.

British doctors said that if the pregnancy was successful, it could mean similar transplants being carried out in the UK within a couple of years.

There are 15,000 women in Britain who were born without a womb or who have had theirs removed for medical reasons.

Richard Smith, a consultant at Imperial College London, welcomed the news of the embryo implantation.

He has already trialled womb transplants on rabbits and will move on to human transplants if he is given ethical approval.
Mrs Sert, who is married to 35-year-old Mustafa, has said previously: ‘If I had a magic wand, I would want to be pregnant now. I just want to hold my baby in my arms, to be a mother.’

Those in favour of womb transplants argue it is the only way to meet the desperate desire of many of these women to ‘carry’ their own baby.

This need cannot be met if they use another woman as a surrogate, a controversial process that is strictly regulated in the UK and illegal in some countries, including France and Germany.
Many British couples end up travelling to India, where clinics hire out women as surrogates.

However, this is fraught with legal issues.

For example, couples whose surrogate children are born abroad have to go to court in the UK to ‘prove’ they are the legal parents.

Adoption does not give a woman the chance to have a child who is genetically her own and, again, there is a strict vetting procedure.
Culled from DAILY MAIL

'They took turns raping me': adopted son of gay couple accuses parents of sexual assault

A same-sex couple accused of sexually abusing their adopted children are facing trial after withdrawing from a plea agreement as they are facing new allegations of molestation.

George Harasz, pictured above, and Douglas Wirt of Glastonbury,pictured below were set to be sentenced Friday in Hartford Superior Court under a deal calling for suspended prison sentences and probation.


But the men instead withdrew from the agreement. The married couple pleaded no contest to charges of risk of injury to a minor in January.
Harasz and Wirth adopted nine children beginning in 2000 and were arrested in November 2011.
Police said two boys, ages 5 and 15, accused Harasz of sexually assaulting them. Harasz was charged with first-degree sexual assault and Wirth was charged with third-degree sexual assault of the 15-year-old boy.The judge said that the new allegations of abuse revealed in the pre-sentence investigation are 'dramatically different and more extreme.'

According to the report cited by the prosecutors, the couple's adopted son said he has scars 'from being held down and raped and that those injuries were inflicted by a weapon.'

During the hearing, one of the alleged victims addressed the court, demanding that his fathers be locked up in prison. The teenager said that the physical, psychological and sexual abuse began when he was six years old.

According to his statement, Harasz and Wirth would touch and violate him, and would make him perform sexual acts on the two of them.

'They took turns raping me over and over,' the accuser said. 'Anyone who would do this to a child is a sick, demented person.'


Other children in the home told authorities they weren't abused.

Friday was supposed to be a sentencing hearing for Harasz and Wirth, who pleaded guilty in January to one felony count each of risk of injury to a minor.

But the agreement fell apart at the last moment when the defendants learned of a new allegation of abuse made against Harasz by one of the alleged victims, the Hartford Courant reported.

The case was thrown into further turmoil after additional allegations of abuse came to light involving three other of the nine children adopted by the Connecticut men.

Prosecutor David Zagaja told Judge Joan Alexander that in light of the revelations, which could result in additional criminal charges, there was no point in going forward with the sentencing. Instead,

Zagaja said the proper course of action was to go to trial.
The defendants' defense attorneys agreed, asking the judge to allow their clients to withdraw their guilty plea and have their day in court to clear their name.

The judge said that the new allegations of abuse revealed in the pre-sentence investigation are 'dramatically different and more extreme.'

Several family members of the two men spoke out in their defense, including one of their adopted sons, Carlos Harasz, who once again insisted that his siblings accusing their parents are liars and said they are mentally ill.
Carlos Harasz claimed that the abuse his brother described was committed by his previous foster parents, not the two fathers who built a 'normal, painless life' for their large rood.

He also accused child services and police of taking 'the word of an angry, damaged, disturbed boy' and ended up destroying a family.

Russell Wirth described his son and his partner as 'loving, dedicated parents' who were destroyed by the false allegations, and called on their three adopted sons to tell the truth.

Married fathers Harasz and Wirth, who say they consider caring for hard-to-place children a personal challenge, adopted three sets of siblings, all boys, since 2000.

George's two biological children and their mother also live at the large Victorian home in Glastonbury, Connecticut.

According to their website, the family also ran a dog breeding business from their home, with the original aim of helping the children learn to love and care for something.

in November 2011, Harasz was arrested and charged with assaulting two children and Wirth with assaulting one, police told the Hartford Courant.

Harasz was charged with two counts of first-degree sexual assault, aggravated first-degree sexual assault, fourth-degree sexual assault, two counts of risk of injury to a minor and cruelty to persons.
Wirth was charged with one count of third-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor.

Police began investigating the allegations in February. The boys, three groups of siblings, were removed from the home in February 2012, authorities said. A second investigation began in August.

But Carlos Harasz, another adopted son of the same-sex couple, said that in more than 10 years living with Harasz and Wirth, he never saw or experienced any abuse.

Carlos Harasz, who goes to Central Connecticut State University, told the Courant that, before their adoption, the children were moved often between foster families and were suffering from 'reactive attachment disorder'.

The condition often affects children who have been moved frequently from home to home or who have been taken from their parents. Common symptoms can include withdrawal, aggressive behavior, lying and stealing.

Carlos said.'When you go through foster care, you have a lot of issues,' he said. 'When you've been with 20 other families who've done you wrong, somebody has to take the blame. It doesn't have to be the people who saved our lives.'

Harasz and Wirth were unfairly taking that blame for that pain, Carlos said.

'Maybe they couldn't accept the happiness we have here', he said of the accusers. 'Things were going good.'

Adoption officials said that they had revised its practices since the case emerged.

Department of Children and Families Commissioner Joette Katz said: 'I was horrified that adopted children could be so terribly abused by the adults who are responsible for their care.'

She said that the placements were recommended to DCF by a private adoption agency.

If convicted, Harasz faces decades in prison.

Culled from DAILY MAIL

Romanian lawyer sues his bishop and 4 priests for failing to properly exorcise demons in his house

A Romanian lawyer is suing his local Orthodox bishop and four priests claiming they failed to properly exorcise flatulent demons that were forcing him out of his home.

Madalin Ciculescu, 34, pictured above accused the five of fraud after they turned up several times to exercise the demons which were responsible for the bad smells that were ruining his business.

He claimed that after the failed exorcism the demons even started haunting him at his home at Pitesti in Arges County in central Romania.
The case alleging 'religious malpractice' is reportedly the first time there has been such an allegation made in a Romanian court.
The four priests had all tried and failed to exorcise the demons, according to the legal papers that named bishop Constantin Argatu pictured below,

even though he had not been to the property, as he was in charge of the priests who had been there.

The case has already been rejected by a lower court in Romania and was rejected again this week by the Romanian High Court, but now the businessmen says he plans to go to the European Court of Human Rights.
He told the court: 'If they (the accused) represent the way of God then God's ways are crooked. They did not remove the demons that made these bad smells as they promised to do, and I still see all sorts of demons in the form of animals, usually crows but also other such things, that are making my life miserable.

'When I am at home they switch the TV on and off all the time, they make foul smells that give me headaches and basically roam unhindered around my house and my business.'
The man produced his mother to back up his claim saying that even the hair-dryer was possessed and a black shadow came out of it when anyone tried to use it - and she also said the fridge was infested by the flatulent demons that she confirmed left foul smells about the property.

But the lawyer for the Archdiocese from Arges, Anton Alin, rejected the allegation of fraud saying that the exorcism had been properly carried out and they believed the allegations of further demons and more bad smells were simply a product of the man's imagination.

The Romanian court agreed with the church and rejected the application against Bishop Argatu as well as priests Ionut Cret Ovidiu, Gheorghe Nicut, Marius Dumitrescu and Gheorghe Dunitru - and ordered Ciculescu to pay legal costs.

Culled from MAIL ONLINE

'Donkey bomb' kills policeman in Aghanistan as Talibans turn live animals into explosives

A policeman has been killed and three civilians were injured after a bomb strapped to a donkey exploded at a police post in Afghanistan.


Local government spokesman Sarhadi Zwak says the animal blew up in front of the checkpoint in the Alingar district of Laghman province.

Mr Zwak said Taliban militants were responsible for the bomb, which was remotely detonated. Insurgents are finding new ways to thwart stepped up security measures in their bid to undermine confidence in the Afghan government.
Donkey bombs are uncommon in Afghanistan, although the militants are having to find increasingly bizarre ways to get explosives close to their intended targets.

Female suicide bombers are regularly used by the Taliban, with children even reportedly being trained to carry out attacks.

Today's incident comes after insurgents wearing Afghan army uniforms launched a suicide attack and stormed a courthouse in a failed bid to free Taliban inmates, killing at least 46 people.
The attack began when nine men wearing suicide vests drove into the capital of Farah province in western Afghanistan, evading checkpoints by using army vehicles, according to the provincial police chief.



The stand-off ended some eight hours later when the last gunman was killed.

In August 2012 a bomb strapped to a donkey exploded in Ghor Province, killing a senior policeman and injury three people.

Culled from MAIL ONLINE

Tunisian girls 'head to Syria to offer themselves to Islamic fighters as part of sexual jihad'

At least 13 Tunisian girls reportedly travelled to rebel-held Northern Syria to offer themselves as sex workers to opposition fighters.


The report comes as concerns in Tunisia grow about religious orders or 'fatwas' that have circulated the internet calling on women to perform jihad through sex.


Last week, a Tunisian minister of religious affairs appealed to girls not to be influenced by Islamic preachers outside of Tunisia who, it has been reported, made a number of 'sexual fatwas'.
Noureddine al-Khadimi rejected 'sexual jihad' fatwas, urging Tunisian people and state institutions to not respond to them.

Tunisian newspapers reported that a young Tunisian man divorced his wife, and that they both headed to Syria almost a month ago to 'allow her to engage in sexual jihad with the mujahideen' there.
This report followed earlier ones of a video widely circulated on the internet and social websites in Tunisia shows the parents of a veiled girl called Rahmah, 17.


They said Rahmahat disappeared from home one morning and they 'later learned that she had headed to Syria to carry out sexual jihad.'


The young girl has since returned to her family, who have kept her out of sight, and said that their daughter is not a religious fanatic 'but was influenced by her fellow students who are known for their affiliation with the jihadist Salafist.'


Her parents said these fellow students may have brainwashed her and convinced her to travel to Syria 'to support the mujahideen there.'

Such stories are becoming more common in Tunisia and parents are concerned about the influence charismatic Islamic leaders in other Arab countries can wield over their children.
The minister’s statements came after the spread of an anonymous 'sexual jihad' fatwa on the Internet calling on young women to support [opposition] fighters in Syria by providing sexual services on the battlefield.

According to media reports in Tunisia who quoted mujahideen returning to Tunisia after participating in jihad in Syria, 13 Tunisian girls headed to the battlefield in response to the 'sexual jihad' fatwa.

News websites and social networks in Tunisia circulated a fatwa attributed to Sheikh Mohamed al-Arifi in which he calls upon 'Muslim women' to perform jihad through sex.


However, sources close to the sheikh denied that he had issued the fatwa, stressing that anyone who circulates or believes it is insane.


Saudi Arabia is widely known to be financially backing the Syrian rebels fighting in Northern Syria and whose hardcore ‘Salafist’ strand of Islam influences a great number of the young fighters – many of whom are ‘jihadists’ and come from all around the world, including the UK.

Reports in Tunisia stress though that the fatwa had gained much attention on pro-Syrian regime websites, the goal of which may be to tarnish the image of the Islamic fighters by stressing a key point of Syrian leader Bashar Al Assad that fundamentalists, supported by Salafist groups in Saudi Arabia, are amongst the Syrian rebels.

Al-Hadi Yahmad, a researcher on the affairs of Islamic groups, told Al-Hayat: 'The issue of sexual jihad was initially attributed to a Saudi sheikh who denied it, and this fatwa is abnormal and not endorsed by religious scholars.'

He added that this fatwa — had it indeed been issued — may involve Syrian girls living in Syria, who can 'support the mujahideen by marrying them for a few hours.'

Under Islamic law, a man can marry and consummate a marriage with his bride, before divorcing her the next day without any resistance from the bride or her family simply by following religious etiquette.

Noor Eddin al-Khadimi, said that Tunisians should not abide by the fatwa.

Her calls were duplicated by the Tunisian opposition also.


Salma al-Raqiq, a Tunisian opposition figure, said that the 'jihad marriages' were a disgrace for the Tunisians.


She also called on the authorities to start dealing with the increasing phenomenon of Tunisian jihadis heading to Syria to join radical Islamist groups.

Al-Raqiq told the UPI press agency that the phenomenon was a dangerous one. She said that young girls, including minors, have been sent to Syria to 'marry' jihadis for a few hours.

Culled from MAIL ONLINE

Filmmaker 'freezes to death' during production of documentary on homelessness

A young filmmaker is believed to have frozen to death while making a documentary about sleeping rough on the streets.

Lee Halpin pictured above planned to spend this week on the streets of Newcastle experiencing and filming what life is like for those who are living rough.

But three days after embarking on the project talented Lee, who lived with his family in Heaton, Newcastle, was found dead in a boarded-up hostel on Westgate Road, Newcastle.

It is not yet known how he died, but it's feared the 27-year-old may have succumbed to hypothermia.

A Met Office spokesman confirmed the lowest recorded temperature for Newcastle early on April 3 was around -4.2C.

Friends have since paid tribute to the 'thoroughly excellent bloke' and have spoken of his death as the 'ultimate sacrifice' in raising awareness of homelessness.

Lee had spoken with his friends about looking forward to the project and on Sunday was asking his 1,500 Twitter followers if anyone had a sleeping bag he could borrow.

In his last Tweet - on Sunday at 11.05am - Lee asked his followers: 'If anyone has got an old phone I can have for a week, I'd be very grateful.'
'Lee was a great guy, a character and was well known. His big things were creative writing and poetry.

'He was making a documentary about homeless people living in Newcastle's West End.



'No one knows how he passed away, but we think it could have been hypothermia.

'He made the ultimate sacrifice trying to raise awareness about what was happening to other people.'

Lee, was discovered in the vacant Summerhill Hostel just before 10am on Wednesday.

A Northumbria Police spokesman said it was believed no third party was involved in his death, adding: 'Police were informed the body of a man believed to be in his 20s had been found in a derelict building in Westgate Road.

'A report will be prepared for the coroner.'
Paramedics were also called to the property.

Since Lee's death, tributes have come in from friends and those who knew him.

One friend described Lee as 'a great advocate for the north-east arts scene'.

Having completed his creative writing MA at Newcastle University, Lee went on to become a founder editor of Novel, a magazine covering all aspects of North East culture from performances and exhibitions to launch parties and talent.

And for almost a year, he'd featured on the airwaves with his The Weekend Starts Here Show on Radio Tyneside, on Fridays from 8pm till 10pm.

On Twitter, tributes have been paid by those who worked with and knew Lee.

Staff at Intimation Creative said: 'We're very sad to hear that Lee Halpin passed away.

'Our thoughts go out to Lee's family and many friends.'

Dan Howarth described Lee as a 'talented, courageous and thoroughly excellent bloke', adding: 'Shattered by the news of the death of Lee Halpin. A massive loss.'

Culled from MAIL ONLINE

Roman Catholic Priest pleads guilty to drug trafficking

A suspended Roman Catholic priest accused of making more than $300,000 in methamphetamine sales out of his Connecticut apartment while running an adult video and sex toy shop pleaded guilty Tuesday to a federal drug charge.

Kevin Wallin, 61 of Waterbury pictured above, admitted to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was scheduled to be sentenced June 25. The prosecution and defense agreed on a sentence of 11 to 14 years in prison.

Prosecutors said the 61-year-old Wallin had meth mailed to him from co-conspirators in California and sold the drugs out of his Waterbury apartment last year. He also bought an adult video and sex toy shop in North Haven named Land of Oz & Dorothy's Place, apparently to launder the drug money, authorities said.

Wearing a beige prison jumpsuit and sporting a goatee and close-cropped hair, Wallin acknowledged in court that the drug operation involved nearly four pounds of methamphetamine. He said "yes" several times as the judge asked whether he understood the consequences of his plea.

Wallin, former pastor at St. Augustine Parish in Bridgeport, appeared to have no supporters in the courtroom. He was led out of the room in handcuffs and remains detained.

Charges against four other people arrested in the case are pending.

"We're glad to have resolved this part of the case," Connecticut U.S. Attorney David B. Fein said outside the courtroom. "It's a serious conspiracy charge involving a very dangerous drug."

Wallin's public defender, Kelly Barrett, declined to comment.

Dubbed in some media as "Monsignor Meth," Wallin was pastor of St. Augustine Parish for nine years until he resigned in June 2011, citing health and personal reasons. He previously served six years as pastor of St. Peter's Church in Danbury until 2002.
"Msgr. Wallin's guilty plea represents an important step in his coming to terms with his own actions and their impact on others," the Diocese of Bridgeport said in a statement. "It is a difficult moment for all of us but we hope it is also the first step in rebuilding his life. We pray that he moves toward healing and wholeness."

The diocese had suspended him from public ministry last May amid concerns by church officials about a number of problems with Wallin, including sexually inappropriate behavior with other men in the church rectory, Wallace said. Church leaders weren't aware of Wallin's involvement with drugs at the time of the suspension, diocese spokesman Brian D. Wallace said.

Wallace said Wallin now faces the prospect of removal from the priesthood by the Vatican, a process called laicization.

Wallin was arrested in January, and a grand jury indicted him and four other people on drug charges.

An undercover officer bought meth from Wallin six times from Sept. 20 to Jan. 2, paying more than $3,400 in total for 23 grams of the drug, authorities said.

Federal agents said they learned through wiretaps and informants about other sales Wallin was making.

On social media, people couldn't help but compare Wallin with Walter White, the main character on the TV show "Breaking Bad," who was making so much cash that he and his wife bought a car wash to launder their profits.

Also charged in the case were Kenneth Devries of Waterbury; Michael Nelson of Manchester; Chad McCluskey of San Clemente, Calif.; and Kristen Laschober of Laguna Niguel, Calif. Authorities say McCluskey and Laschober were involved in the shipping of methamphetamine to Wallin.

All four of those defendants have pleaded not guilty.
Culledfrom HUFF POST

Catholic Priest bags 6 yrs in jail for child sex abuse

Catholic priest pleaded guilty Monday to sexually abusing a 12-year-old boy he invited for a sleepover when he was pastor of a church in a small city south of Portland.

The Rev. Angel Armando Perez pictured above, was sentenced to more than six years in prison after pleading guilty in Marion County Circuit Court to first-degree sexual abuse, DUI and furnishing liquor to a minor.

Perez, a former pastor at St. Luke Catholic Church in Woodburn, was arrested in August. The Salem child told police he woke up during a sleepover in Perez's home to find the priest touching his genitals and apparently taking photographs with a cellphone.

Police said the boy ran from the home with Perez chasing him. Neighbors took the boy to his sister's house.

Detectives wrote in their affidavit that the 47-year-old priest, a native of Mexico who has permanent legal residency in the U.S., told them he drank too much at a community event and doesn't remember what happened after he and the boy watched a movie.

Police said the boy told them the priest gave him a beer and he drank about half of it.

A grand jury indictment charged Perez with giving the boy alcohol on several occasions and accused the priest of evidence tampering. Marion County Deputy District Attorney Katie Suver said investigators believed Perez deleted a photo from his cellphone.

As part of Monday's plea agreement, additional charges of using a child in display of sexually explicit conduct and evidence tampering were dismissed, Suver said in a statement.

"We ask that everyone keep the victim and his family in their prayers," the Catholic Archdiocese of Portland said in a statement. "We also pray for healing and peace for the parishioners of the St. Luke Parish family."

Perez was placed on administrative leave when the accusations came to light, archdiocese spokesman Bud Bunce said Monday night. Now that the criminal case is resolved, "the church will be able to look at what other things need to be done."

Those possibilities range from placing Perez on permanent leave to removing him from the priesthood, Bunce said.

For the past decade, the archdiocese has worked to implement safety measures for clergy, teachers, adult volunteers and youth, the statement said.

"However, the misconduct of even one person can teach that our vigilance must never be relaxed," it added.

Regarding Perez, the statement said, "We also ask for prayers for the family and friends of Father Perez and prayers for forgiveness. Yet, forgiveness does not exclude the consequences of justice under our nation's laws. Father Perez is now facing those consequences."

Bunce said he was not aware of any civil claims or lawsuits filed in the case. He said he believed the archdiocese loaned Perez money for his criminal defense but didn't know the amount.

The Archdiocese of Portland was the first in the nation to declare bankruptcy in 2004, just hours before two civil trials on sex abuse allegations were set to begin. The diocese emerged from bankruptcy in 2007 with a $50 million settlement of more than 175 claims. Another $20 million was set aside to handle future claims.
Culled from HUFF POST

Monsterous crime: man convicted of raping six months old baby to death

In a desperate bid to save his life, convicted Ohio baby killer Steven Smith pictured above, has asserted that he never meant to murder his girlfriend’s six-month-old daughter – only to sexually assault her.


The girl, Autumn Carter, of Mansfield, Ohio, died in 1998 because Smith was too drunk to realize his sexual assault was killing the child, Smith's attorneys planned to tell the Ohio Parole Board Tuesday. And Ohio law is clear, they say: a death sentence requires an intent to kill the victim.

‘The evidence suggests that Autumn's death was a horrible accident,’ his attorneys, Joseph Wilhelm and Tyson Fleming, said in a written argument prepared for the board.

They continued: ‘Despite the shocking nature of this crime, Steve's death sentence should be commuted because genuine doubts exist whether he even committed a capital offense.’

Smith, 46, was never charged with sexual assault, meaning the jury's only choice was to convict or acquit him of aggravated murder, his attorneys say.


The Richland County prosecutor says Smith continues to hide behind alcohol as an excuse, and calls Smith's actions ‘the purposeful murder of a helpless baby girl.’

Prosecutor James Mayer told the board in his own written statement that the girl's injuries are consistent with a homicide that contradicts Smith's claim he didn't intend to kill the girl.

‘The horrific attack upon Autumn Carter showed much more than Smith's stated purpose,’ Mayer said.

Mayer said Monday he didn't know why Smith wasn't charged with rape, but said it wasn't part of a trial strategy.The attack happened early in the morning of September 29, 1998, in the Hardwood Drive apartment of the girl's mother, Kaysha Frye, a 19-year-old woman Smith, then 31 years old, had been dating about six months.

Frye was awakened after 3am by a naked Smith, who placed Autumn beside her in bed, according to records prepared for the parole board hearing.


Frye realized the girl wasn't breathing, told Smith he'd killed her, then ran to a neighbor's house for help.

Smith, known to consume as many as 12 beers a day, had had several beers earlier in the evening and had a blood-alcohol content of .123 - well above the legal limit - when he was tested almost eight hours later, at 11am, records show.

Smith had unsuccessfully tried to have sex with his girlfriend the evening before the attack, according to records.


The prosecutor argued that Smith's assault of the girl was revenge for Smith's failure to perform with Frye.

Smith's attorneys dispute this, saying the girlfriend was not upset with Smith.

Prosecutors presented evidence at trial that Smith's attack lasted as long as 30 minutes, during which time Smith beat the girl to death.

Expert witnesses for Smith conclude he may have accidentally suffocated the girl within three to five minutes while he lay on top of her, according to Smith's clemency petition.

Autopsy showed that little Autumn died of trauma and compression asphyxia. The child also suffered optical nerve damage consistent with being violently shaken.

Smith's attorneys have an uphill battle in their argument because of the ‘moral repugnancy’ surrounding the claim of partial innocence, said Doug Berman, an Ohio State University law professor and death penalty expert.‘But if the lawyers for this defendant can legitimately assert that the evidence doesn't show or support that this was an intentional killing, not only is it appropriate to bring this up at clemency, I think they're obliged, representing their client appropriately, to stress this point,’ Berman said.

Frye, now 35, told the Mansfield News Journal that she wants Smith to die for the killing of her daughter, who would have been 15 today.


The mother recalled how on the night of her daughter's murder, her then-boyfriend walked into her bedroom in the middle of the night and place the child's limp body in her arms.

'Her head just went over my arm,' Frye said. 'I said, "You killed my baby! You killed my baby!”'


Police officers who responded to Frye's apartment found a pair of men's pants under Autumn's indoor swing, the girl's pink sleeper under a coffee table and a shredded diaper on the floor.

Smith was discovered a short time later drunk and disorderly outside the home. He was convicted of the baby’s murder in 1999 and sentenced to death.


Eleven people will speak to the Parole Board Tuesday, among them Autumn's aunt, Kaylee Bashline. She was six years old when her niece was killed.


'I can remember the police officer showing up at our house. I remember my mom dropping to the ground, crying,' Bashline said. 'It still affects our family to this day.'

The panel is expected to make its recommendation as to Smith's plea for clemency to Gov John Kasich in about a week.


Smith is scheduled to die May 1. If executed, he would become the 51st inmate put to death in Ohio since the state resumed executions in 1999.


The state has enough of its lethal injection drug, pentobarbital, to execute Smith and two other inmates before the supply expires. Eight more inmates are scheduled to die from November through mid-2015.

Culled from Daily Mail

Armed robber who escaped from prison to see cancer-stricken grandson is jailed for just six more months

An armed robber who broke out of prison in a desperate bid to see his cancer-stricken grandson has been jailed for just six more months after a judge said his case was 'exceptional'.

John Cadby pictured above scaled a 10ft wall after being denied home leave to visit the toddler.

The child's family were considering sending him to America for treatment and Cadby feared he would never see the 22-month-old again, a court heard.

Cadby, of no fixed address, spent 11 days on the run after escaping from HMP Sudbury in Derbyshire on January 21.

He was serving a six-year sentence imposed in October 2010 for a botched robbery in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham.

On that occasion, police responding to reports of a man armed with an axe in Boldmere Road restrained Cadby after he jumped into a passing car and ordered the terrified driver to help him flee.

Cadby, who was recaptured at a house in Tile Cross, Birmingham, admitted escaping from custody at Birmingham Crown Court.


But he received only an extra six months in jail after Judge Stuart Rafferty QC decided the case was 'exceptional'.

The judge told Cadby: 'I accept entirely that it had weighed heavily on your mind that your grandson was ill and may go to America and you may never see him again.'

The court heard Cadby had also been sent to the higher-security Birmingham Prison after he was tracked down.Warren Stanier, prosecuting, said Cadby escaped after grappling with a guard at Sudbury, an open prison.
Anthony Potter, defending, said his grandson had been at Birmingham Children's Hospital since last October.

The boy had a particularly aggressive form of cancer and it had been proposed to send him to the U.S., Mr Potter added.


He said Cadby's request for home leave had been refused before he took the 'stupid' decision to escape.

Sudbury hit the headlines in June, 2011 when it emerged more than 100 criminals had escaped in the previous four years.

culledfrom DAILY MAIL