This Day In History

Ten years ago.. My lord.

Bus Crash Documentary Needs Support

One of the worst bus accidents ever..

News Enterprise- A documentary is in the works about the May 14, 1988, Carrollton bus crash that killed 27 and injured many others.

The Radcliff church bus was hit by a drunken driver on the way home from a youth trip to Kings Island.

Interviews and re-enactments will be shot around Hardin County after filming begins.

The film, “Impact: After the Crash,” will be directed by Kentucky filmmaker Jason Epperson. The film centers on the story of former University of Kentucky football player Harold Dennis who was one of the youth injured in the crash. Other stories of those affected by the crash also will be used in the film.

Producers are now seeking financial support to back the project. For more information, go to www.theimpactmovie.com.

- News article on bus crash itself-

-Memorial on find a grave-

American-Born al Qaeda Calls for Attacks in U.S.

CBS- A U.S.-born spokesman for al Qaeda called for Muslims living in the United States and Europe to carry out attacks there, CBS Radio reports.

In a 48-minute video posted today on militant websites, Adam Gadahn said that it is a duty and an obligation of Muslims to defend Islam.

"It is the duty of everyone who is sincere in his desire to defend Islam and Muslims today, to take the initiative to perform the individual obligation of jihad ... by striking the Zio-Crusader interests," he said, referring to Western and Jewish interests.

Gadahn, who has been hunted by the FBI since 2004, also tried to discredit attempts by moderate Muslim leaders to suppress the "jihadi awakening."

The video was made available by the U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors extremist activity.

Gadahn grew up on a farm in California and converted to Islam before moving to Pakistan in 1998 where he reportedly attended an al-Qaida training camp.

Man With Knife Attacks Kindergarten in China

(CNN) -- At least 28 children were injured when a man with a knife attacked a kindergarten in east China on Thursday morning, state media said.

Most of the victims were 4-year-olds, the state-run Xinhua news agency said. Three of the children were in critical condition.

Police said they have arrested a 47-year-old suspect.

The incident happened in Taixing city in Jiangsu province.

It comes a day after a man attacked 18 students and a teacher with a knife at a primary school in southern China's Guangdong province, Xinhua said.

It was not immediately known how many people were injured or whether there were any fatalities Wednesday. The man, described as being in his 40s, entered Leicheng First Primary School Wednesday afternoon and committed the attack before he was seized by police, Xinhua reported.

A man who stabbed eight children to death and wounded five others at an elementary school in eastern China last month was executed Wednesday, Xinhua said. Zheng Minsheng, 42, was shot in Nanping City for the March 23 attack.

Authorities said he carried out the attack because he was frustrated at "failures in his romantic life," Xinhua said.

DA: Mother Forced Mentally Disabled Daughter Laura Cummings to Eat Feces and Die

BUFFALO, N.Y. (CBS/AP) Laura Cummings lived a short, tortured life filled with unspeakable abuse at the hands of her mother and half-brother, Eva Cummings and Luke Wright, according to a grand jury indictment returned Feb. 26.

Eva Cummings, 51, and her son face a total of 15 charges in the January 2010 suffocation death of 23-year-old Laura Cummings. The indictment reads like a macabre list of torture and abuse.

Police allege that over the last few months of Laura's life, Eva Cummings and her son Wright, 31, shackled Laura to a metal chair with a sack over her head, brutally sodomized her with a broomstick and at times shoved her face in her own feces.

"Starting in November, there’s a significant escalation of her debasement as a human being," Senior Trial Counsel Thomas M. Finnerty of the DA’s Office said. "It was happening on a daily or nightly basis."

Finnerty, who has prosecuted a number of heinous crimes in his 17 years in the DA’s office, called it "the worst case I’ve ever seen."

"It’s sadistic, and it’s allegedly sustained over a long period of time," he said.

The Cummings household, in North Collins, N.Y., and prior to that in Olean, both just outside of Buffalo, was well-known to Child Protective Services, Patricia Wright, 27, Laura's half sister, told the Buffalo News.

She said she reported abuse to Erie County Child Protective Services and Erie County Family Court more than a decade ago. Patricia Wright said she, herself, was physically abused for years, resulting in a broken ankle and cracked vertebrae in her back.

"Chaos. Almost like a living hell. No child should ever have to go through what we went through," Patricia Wright, told CBS affiliate WIBV when asked what the apartment was like.

Mother and son also are accused of unlawfully imprisoning Laura Cummings because of her mental disability — an elevated hate crime charge.

Eva Cummings could face a possible sentence of 83 years to life on five charges, while her son could face 142 years to life on 10 charges, prosecutors said.

Investigators Study Knife Found Near Slain Pastor's Church

(CNN) -- Investigators plan to examine a knife found near an Oklahoma church where a 61-year-old pastor was killed, they said Friday.

Police found the nude body of Carol Daniels, her arms outstretched, lying behind the altar of Christ Holy Sanctified Church in Anadarko, Oklahoma, about 50 miles from Oklahoma City, a source close to the investigation said.

She died of "multiple sharp-force injuries," according to a preliminary autopsy report that detailed wounds to her neck, back, chest and hand.

Now the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has submitted a knife for forensic analysis, said Steve Neuman, a spokesman for the bureau. He said Friday that he could not comment on the usefulness of the knife to investigators.

The knife -- 8 to 10 inches long -- was found near a car wash across from the church by a satellite truck operator for CNN affiliate KOCO-TV of Oklahoma City, the station reported. Neuman said investigators appreciate the operator and the station for "handling the situation the way they did."

Meanwhile, KOCO broadcast an interview with an Anadarko man, Robert Robertson, who said he saw someone leaving the church on the day Daniels died.

"At the time, I looked around the corner, he was coming out of the front door," Robertson said in an interview posted on the station's Web site. He said the man "had something like a ski mask on" and "was covered in blood."

Robertson told the station that he sleeps at the car wash and investigators have interviewed him.

Daniels was found dead August 23.

District attorney Bret Burns has described the crime scene as "horrific," the worst he's seen in 17 years as a prosecutor. Jessica Brown, a spokeswoman for Oklahoma's State Bureau of Investigation, has said that the body was "staged" after the killing, but she declined to elaborate.

Daniels' clothes were taken from the scene, and a dissolving agent had been sprayed around her body, the source close to the investigation told CNN.

Investigators have offered a $15,000 reward and brought in an FBI profiler.

Daniels' son, Alvin Daniels, has told CNN that she traveled many Sundays to Anadarko, "in case people came to worship" in the church.

He told HLN's "Nancy Grace" that his mother was "always joking with us and always taking care of us, even giving her last dollar even if she didn't have it."

911 Caller Arrested in Georgia Mobile Home Slayings

BRUNSWICK, Georgia (CNN) -- Guy Heinze Jr., the son of one of the victims of last week's killings of eight people in a southeast Georgia mobile home, has been arrested on eight counts of first degree murder, police said Friday.

"This arrest is the result of a compilation of physical as well as testimonial evidence," a police statement said. More details were expected at a police news conference set for Friday evening.

Heinze, who is unemployed, told police he was not home when the killings occurred.

He had been arrested on charges of having a controlled substance and marijuana, as well as tampering with evidence and making false statements to a police officer, Glynn County Police Chief Matt Doering said.

According to the earlier arrest warrant, Heinze provided "investigators with false and misleading information about his whereabouts and involvement in the circumstances leading up to him calling 911 to report the deaths of his family members."

The arrest warrant also said he removed a shotgun from the residence and hid it in the trunk of his car.

A man identified as Heinze reported the slayings. He told an emergency dispatcher when he called Saturday, "I was out last night. I got home just now, and everybody's dead. ... My whole family's dead. It looks like they've been beaten to death."

Seven of the eight victims will be buried Saturday, as a 3-year-old who was injured struggles to survive at a Savannah hospital.

The toddler's grieving grandmother, Diane Isenhower, who lost four of her children in the rampage, said the child is on life support.

Police said seven of the victims died in the mobile home, and the eighth died Sunday at a hospital.

The funeral for Joseph L. West, 30, is to be held at mid-month.

For the other seven, viewing was scheduled for Friday night, and a funeral is to be held Saturday afternoon at Youngs Island Church in Eulonia, Georgia.

West was the boyfriend of Chrissy Toler, 22, who died along with her father, Russell D. Toler Sr., 44, and three siblings: Michelle Toler, 15; Michael Toler, 19; and Russell D. Toler Jr., 20. Michael Toler had Down syndrome.

Russell Toler Sr. and Isenhower were divorced.

Also killed were Guy Heinze Sr., 45 and Brenda Gail Falagan, 49, police said.

Clint Rowe, whose wife is Isenhower's sister, said the family was having trouble coping with the losses and noted that police, too, were affected.

"They're the ones who walked in on that, so you know it wears on the police as well," he said. Referring to Isenhower, he added, "It has been a long week for her. She's lost all of her family, so naturally it would be."

"They're just as nice as they could be," Rowe said of the victims. "Friendly folks. Down-to-earth folks."

Russell Toler Sr., who worked at a nearby factory, was a generous man who allowed relatives facing financial and health problems to live with him. There were 10 people in the mobile home, and their combined salaries were low, Rowe said. Among them was Toler's sister, Falagan, who was in a wheelchair.

Police have not said how the victims died, although autopsies were completed Monday.

The bodies were discovered Saturday at New Hope Plantation mobile home park, north of the Atlantic coastal city of Brunswick. Police have released few details of the crime scene.

Doering acknowledged that there is fear in the community but said that releasing details of the slayings won't allay it.

"We, too, have that same fear. We're the ones that have to get out there and try to make people feel better as best that we can," he said.

FDA Says Residue is Frog or Toad; How Did it Get in Pepsi Can?

(CNN) -- The "disgusting" blob that Fred DeNegri's wife says she poured out of his Diet Pepsi can was probably a gutted frog or toad, the Food and Drug Administration said.

DeNegri was grilling in his backyard tiki bar in Ormond Beach, Florida, when he popped open a can of Diet Pepsi, took a big gulp and started gagging, his wife, Amy, said.

He emptied out the can down a sink but something heavy remained inside. His wife took over and shook the can over a paper plate until something resembling "pink linguini" slid out, followed by "dark stuff," Amy DeNegri said.

"It was disgusting," said Amy DeNegri, 55. "And now, what started out as a normal afternoon in our tiki bar has blown up into this crazy thing."

The DeNegris took pictures before calling poison control and the FDA, which showed up the next day to examine the can in question and collect it for lab testing.

The couple received a copy of the completed report last week from the Food and Drug Administration Office of Regulatory Affairs, which concluded the foreign matter appeared to be a frog or a toad.

"The animal was lacking internal organs normally found in the abdominal and thoracic cavity," the report notes.

A second, closed can from the same 36-pack of Diet Pepsi from Sam's Club, was also submitted for testing, according to Amy DeNegri. No abnormalities were detected, the report states.

The FDA also conducted an investigation at the local Pepsi bottling plant in Orlando from August 4 to 11 and "did not find any adverse conditions or association to this problem," spokeswoman Siobhan DeLancey said.

"We have not determined when or how the contamination occurred," DeLancey said in an e-mail.

Pepsi says the FDA results "affirmed" the company's confidence "in the quality of our products and the integrity of our manufacturing system," according to spokesman Jeff Dahncke.

"The speed of our production lines and the rigor of our quality control systems make it virtually impossible for this type of thing to happen in a production environment. In fact, there never has been even a single instance when a claim of this nature has been traced back to a manufacturing issue," Dahncke said in an e-mail.

"The FDA conducted a thorough inspection of our Orlando facility and found no cause for concern. In this case, the FDA simply was unable to determine when or how the specimen entered the package."

When asked if Pepsi believed it was not responsible for the animal getting into the can, Dahncke said, "We have addressed the facts of the investigation and stated our position. It's not appropriate for us to comment beyond that."

But the DeNegris say they're hopping mad over Pepsi's handling of the matter.

Amy DeNegri said she hasn't heard from Pepsi since the day after the incident occurred, when she spoke with someone over the phone. At first, the woman was apologetic, but DeNegri says her attitude changed after she told her that the FDA had taken the can for testing.

"She asked for my pictures, I sent them and never heard back," she said.

The retired school staffer says she and her husband are seeking legal advice to examine their options.

"I want to see Pepsi fess up to it and compensate my husband for the negative publicity they have caused," she said. "I'm easy, but they're the ones that are making it hard."

Oklahoma Pastor Was Found Nude, Stabbed Behind Altar, Source Says

(CNN) -- A 61-year-old pastor who was killed in a rural Oklahoma church was found lying behind the altar with her arms outstretched, a source close to the investigation told CNN.

It was one of the latest details to emerge in the killing of Carol Daniels, whose nude body was found in the Christ Holy Sanctified Church in Anadarko, Oklahoma, in a crime scene the district attorney described as "horrific."

Her clothes were taken from the scene, and a dissolving agent had been sprayed around her body, the source said.

An FBI profiler was brought in during the weekend to assist investigators, Steve Neuman, a spokesman for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, said Monday. Authorities also have increased to $15,000 a reward for information.

Daniels, from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, was found inside the church August 23. She died from "multiple sharp-force injuries," according to a preliminary autopsy report obtained by CNN. Sharp-force injuries mean cuts or stab wounds.

Diagrams in the autopsy notes show Daniels suffered injuries to the side and back of her neck, her back and her left breast. She also suffered wounds to her hands, a typical spot for defensive wounds resulting from attempts to ward off an attack.

In addition, the autopsy notes say a portion of Daniels' hair appeared singed or burned. The medical examiner classified her death as a homicide.

Daniels' son, Alvin Daniels, told CNN that she traveled many Sundays to Anadarko, about 50 miles southwest of her home, to the church "in case people came to worship."

District Attorney Bret Burns has called the crime scene the worst he'd seen in 17 years as a prosecutor but gave no further explanation. Jessica Brown, a spokeswoman for Oklahoma's State Bureau of Investigation, said last week the body was "staged" after the killing, but declined to elaborate.

Meanwhile, Neuman said, video surveillance from a convenience store near the church is being analyzed, a process that started Friday. He declined to comment on the condition of Daniels' body when found.

Alvin Daniels told HLN's "Nancy Grace" that his mother was "always joking with us and always taking care of us, even giving her last dollar, even if she didn't have it."

He said she took precautions at the church. "She was very cautious for the most part, and she would usually leave the door open in case people came to worship," he said.

The death has unnerved religious leaders in Anadarko, said Ted Mercer, pastor of Grace Christian Fellowship, which is about three blocks from the church were Daniels' body was found.

Garrido Victim: 'He Had Me for 8 Hours. He Had Her for 18 Years'

(CNN) -- Katie Callaway Hall trembled for four hours when she heard Phillip Garrido was arrested.

His name sent a flurry of emotion running through her mind.

"I screamed," she told CNN's Larry King on Monday night. "I started screaming 'Oh my god, Oh my god, it's him.' "

She has thought about him every day since November 22, 1976 when he asked her for a ride at a supermarket in California, before handcuffing her, binding her and taking her to a mini-warehouse in Reno, Nevada, where he raped her.

Garrido was convicted for kidnapping and raping Hall, but was released after serving just over 10 years of a 50-year sentence. He was labeled a sex offender and put on lifetime parole.

"In many ways, the capture of Phillip Garrido has closed a chapter in my life," Hall wrote for a Larry King blog. "I don't have to hide anymore. I don't have to live every day of my life wondering if he is looking for me. I am finally free from the fear I have lived with since the day I learned he was paroled."

Garrido and his wife Nancy were charged last week with crimes relating to the abduction of 11-year-old Jaycee Lee Dugard in 1991 and her captivity in a hidden shed-and-tent compound in the couple's backyard in Antioch, California.

"With all the joy I should feel, I want to scream from the depths of my soul," she said. "Scream because my fears turned out to be justified -- he struck again."

While Hall has tried to suppress some of the memories of what happened to her that night, Garrido's arrest took her mind back to that night in November.

"A man tapped on my window and asked for a ride," she said. "I agreed."

When she stopped the car to drop him off, Garrido took the keys out of the ignition, according to court documents from Garrido's appeal in the case.

Garrido, then 25, "told [Hall] it wasn't intentional that he had taken her, but that it was her fault because she was attractive," according to the documents.

"Soon after, I was cuffed, bound, gagged, and taken to a warehouse," Hall told CNN.

She was kept in the 6 by 12-foot storage facility, which Hall remembers was stacked with half-opened boxes with China-type dishes inside.

Large, heavy carpets were hanging from the ceiling, spaced apart every few feet.

"It was like a maze," she said. "And in the back of the mini warehouse where he had me, he had it set up to keep someone for awhile."

"Most of the details about what happened to me after I entered that warehouse have been repressed."

She told Larry King that she feared for her life.

"I thought I was dead," she said.

Hall was held in the small storage facility for five hours before she heard a noise.

"My recollections begin around 3 a.m. Someone banged on the door. I remember thinking, 'Oh my God, his friends are coming,' " she said. "Garrido said, 'Do I have to tie you up or are you going to be good.' "

She told him she would be good, but she knew if it was the police banging outside, she was going to "have to try something."

"I barreled my way out of the warehouse completely naked. I could see the officer and Garrido standing there. They both looked at me like I was crazy," she said. "I couldn't see the officer's car. I thought 'Oh God, he's not a real cop.' My state of mind was such that I couldn't fully embrace what I was seeing. Finally, I saw his police car."

Garrido tried to tell the cop Hall was his girlfriend.

"I screamed, 'No I'm not -- help me, help me,' " she said.

"The officer told me to back in and put my clothes on. When I went inside, Garrido must have convinced the officer we were both on drugs, because he let Garrido go back into the building alone," Hall said. "I had already put some of my clothes on. Garrido came back in and begged me not to turn him in."

Half-dressed, Hall said she maneuvered passed him and asked the police to keep him away.

"They asked if I was brought there against my will," she said. "I told them I was, that he had handcuffed and bound me. An officer shined a light on my wrists, saw the sores from the handcuffs, and arrested Garrido."

Though Garrido was put behind bars for what he did, Hall said that night changed her life forever.

"For years, I walked around like a zombie," she said. "I had to tell everyone I met what had happened to me -- because I didn't feel like myself. It was as if I had to explain why I wasn't 'normal.' "

For her, that's the biggest pain Garrido put her though.

"I was a good person. I lived right, and treated others well," she said.

"He changed my life in an instant. I don't feel like I can ever be that person again. Being victimized is something that only a victim can understand. I hate that he did this to me, and I doubt I'll ever get over it."

Though the trauma of her kidnapping has stayed with her all of these years, Hall said she couldn't even begin to imagine the pain Garrido has caused Dugard and the two children she had with him.

"The only thing I can think of worse than what happened to me, is it happening to my child," she said. "I can't imagine what Jaycee is going through. He had me for 8 hours. He had her for 18 years.

"I was an adult, with instincts that helped me deal with the situation. She was a child. This is going to be with her for the rest of her life. I can only wish her the best."

Billings 911 Call Is Released

PENSACOLA, Fla. - Chilling 911 calls have been released in the murders of Byrd and Melanie Billings. The court put a reproduction ban on all surveillance video and scene photographs, except for those two calls.

In crime scene photos taken from the Billings' home, it appeared to be like any other. A watermelon slice is seen on the counter, and a kid's cartoon was playing on TV.

The only thing out of place, were the fact Byrd and Melanie Billings had just been killed in cold blood.

Here's part of the 911 call placed by Ashley Markham, the Billings' daughter:

Daughter: "Hi, I need someone to go out to my parent's house. I was on the phone with my sister trying to get in touch with them, and she said they are on the bathroom floor and there is nobody there. She said they were dead and I don't know what she is talking about."

Dispatcher: "What's their names?"

Daughter: "Melanie and Byrd Billings."

To prevent reporters from taking pictures with cell phones, the state attorney's office required the media to put all devices in a brown envelope, but they allowed reporters to take notes.

In the couple's bedroom, we saw that Byrd Billings' body was found face-down with his hands under him, bound with a single zip tie. Melanie Billings' body was found face up, with her right shoulder slumped against the bedroom wall.

The most heart-grabbing message was in a painting on the couple's bedroom wall that read, "Just one lifetime won't be enough for us."

The gruesome nature of the crime is not keeping away members of the public who want to see the material.

"Because of situation with family, number of children involved in the home, has garnered great amount of interest, more so than other cases in the past," said Greg Marcille, Florida State Attorney.

Many of the children the Billings' had adopted had special needs. Several toys were laying on the home's floors. One was splattered with blood.

Seven people have been arrested and charged with the Billings' murders. Leonard Gonzalez, Jr., Leonard Gonzalez, Sr., Wayne Coldiron, Donnie Stallworth, Gary Sumner, Frederick Thornton, and Rakeem Florence have all been charged with two counts each of first degree murder, and one count each of home invasion robbery.

The six men could face the death penalty if convicted. Florence, 16, could face life in prison if convicted.

Pamela Long Wiggins has been arrested and charged with being an accessory after the fact, first degree. She remains in the Escambia County Jail under $500,000 bond. Her husband, Hugh Wiggins, has been a person of interest since the beginning, but hasn't been arrested.

Henry "Cab" Tice is a former business partner of Byrd Billings. Officials say he allegedly stole thousands from Billings. He's charged with theft.

Sheriff David Morgan also said Tice admitted to being connected to the Mexican Mafia.

Those Animals...

(CNN) -- A 61-year-old Oklahoma pastor likely died from "multiple sharp force injuries," according to an autopsy report CNN obtained Friday.

Carol Daniels, a pastor from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, had injuries to her back, breasts, hands and neck, the report from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said.

The report called the death a homicide.

Investigators in Oklahoma have offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the responsible person. A local prosecutor has described the crime scene as "horrific."

Daniels traveled many Sundays to Anadarko, Oklahoma, about 50 miles southwest of her home, to Christ Holy Sanctified Church "in case people came in to worship," her son, Alvin Daniels, told CNN.

Investigators found her body inside the church around noon on Sunday.

District Attorney Bret Burns called the crime scene the worst he'd seen in 17 years as a prosecutor, but he would not say why. He also declined to comment about a possible motive.

Jessica Brown, a spokeswoman for Oklahoma's State Bureau of Investigation, said the body was "staged" after the killing, but she declined to say more. She said investigators have some "promising" leads, but a bureau statement says police have no suspects.

The pastor's son described her as a loving mother.

"She was always joking with us and always taking care of us, even giving her last dollar even if she didn't have it," Alvin Daniels said on HLN's "Nancy Grace."

He said she took precautions at the church.

"She was very cautious for the most part and she would usually leave the door open in case people came to worship," he said.

The death has unnerved religious leaders in Anadarko, said Ted Mercer, pastor of Grace Christian Fellowship, which is about three blocks from the church were Daniel's body was found.

Burns met with several religious leaders this week. He urged them to be observant and have a security plan in place at their churches, Mercer said.

Graphic Testimony at Marine Slay Trial Sends Mother of Victim Running from Courtroom

Daily News- A gang of marines sexually assaulted the wife of a Brooklyn-raised Marine in front of him before killing both of them - revelations that sent the slain woman's mom fleeing from a courtroom Wednesday.

The four men used a sex toy to attack Quiana Pietrzak on a table as her bound-and-gagged husband, Sgt. Jan Pawel Pietrzak, watched helplessly in their California home, cops testified.

The attackers - who thought Jan Pawel Pietrak had a hidden stash of cash - also planned to force the newlywed to dance naked in hopes of getting her husband to "break," police said.

Tyrone Miller, 21, and Kesuan (Psycho) Sykes, 22, later allegedly joked about attacking Quiana Pietrzak and sodomizing her with the toy.

"(They) were joking around, laughing, making buzzing sounds," Kevin Cox, 21, told cops, Det. Gary LeClair of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department said.

The graphic testimony was too much for Quiana Pietrzak's mother, Faye Jenkins, who left the courtroom with tears in her eyes.

The men are accused along with Emrys John, 19, of the Oct. 15 murders of the Pietrzaks, who had married just two months earlier.

Police are testifying at a pretrial hearing for the men, who worked under the command of Jan Pawel Pietrzak at the Miramar Marine Corps Air Station in San Diego.

The gun-toting men burst into the couple's home in Winchester, Calif., and tied up Jan Pawel Pietrzak, who was raised in Bensonhurst and joined the Marines after the Sept. 11 attacks.

The suspects believed the couple had a large amount of cash in the house, although it's not clear why.

Miller and Sykes used a knife to cut the straps off Quiana Pietrzak's nightgown and planned to force her to dance in front of her husband to force him to divulge the location of the cash.

They instead decided to force the hog-tied husband to watch as they attacked her with the toy on a living room table.

"Sgt. [Pietrzak] had duct tape over his mouth, and he was making growling sounds," LeClair said.

The sadistic fiends discussed burning the couple alive, but couldn't start the fire. So they shot them both in the head.

The four even grabbed milk and juice from the refrigerator as the slain couple lay dead.

Cops later found stolen items in the accused Marines' rooms at a military base.

Racial epithets were found spray-painted in the bedroom, a reference to the fact that Jan Pawel Pietrzak was white and Quiana Pietrzak was black.

Cops believe robbery was the primary motive.

So Sad. And Scary Video.

The exact moment when a tourist helicopter collided with a small plane over the Hudson River Saturday was captured by a tourist on a boat.

WASHINGTON - The air traffic controller at Teterboro Airport was on the phone with his girlfriend during the mid-air collision over the Hudson River.

His supervisor had wandered off and wasn't even in the tower.

Horrified officials called their actions "unacceptable," even though they were not blamed for Saturday's crash.

Both controllers - who were not immediately identified - have been suspended and will likely be fired.

Crash probes by the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration revealed the two controllers seriously deviated from their assignments at the time of the collision.

...."The controller gave Altman two choices of route, and he chose a straight shot down the Hudson.

NTSB chairwoman Debbie Hersman has said the controller told Altman to switch his radio over to the Newark tower - and gave the correct frequency - but Newark never made contact.

The controller was also on a separate line with his girlfriend.

"The handoff was never made," an aviation source said.

Mayor Bloomberg was alarmed by the development.

"If true, this is an unacceptable breach of the trust we put in those who watch the city's sky," he said.

New clues to the crash may be contained in a dramatic tourist video of the tragedy that surfaced Thursday on NBC News.

The footage, taken from a boat on the river, shows Altman desperately trying to lift his left wing to avoid hitting the helicopter.

Meanwhile, the remains of the five Italian tourists were welcomed home to Bologna by a large, emotional crowd of friends, relatives and mourners.

Silvia Rigamonti, who lost her husband and youngest son, threw herself at her husband's casket.

Police Identify Body Dumped In SW Dade

SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE (CBS4) ― It was a horrible image that witness Leonel Perez says he'll never be able to shake: the body of a man being pushed from a cargo van as Perez and his wife and two young children watched in horror.

It happened just after 6 Sunday night. And now Miami-Dade Police have identified the victim.

Police say he is 35-year-old Fidel Ruiz Moreno and he's been arrested before for a series of infractions. Records show Moreno was arrested on March 21, 2007, for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest without violence. But charges were later dropped. And on Feb. 10, 2009, he was also arrested for sellling marijuana.

Police don't know why he was killed or why his body was dumped from the van Sunday night. They do not have a good description of the suspect that can be released. They are asking for the public's help in finding the driver of the van who dumped Moreno's body on the side of the road in southwest Miami-Dade.

Perez was driving behind a white cargo van with a black grill Sunday evening with his wife Jillian Martinez and their young children when they saw a man in the cargo van dump Moreno's body on Quail Roost Drive near SW 135th Avenue.

The couple attempted to help Moreno, but soon realized reviving him would be impossible since his body was riddled with bullets and his skull appeared cracked.

"I've never been part of this before. So it messes with your head, but it's part of life I guess," said Perez. "The van just sped off, he threw the body out and sped off. He was just laying there not moving. Yeah he was unconscious," Perez said. "He had a real bad fracture to his cranium to the top of his head. A bunch of bullet wounds yeah I guess he got shot. It was horrible. I feel sorry for that family."

Their six- and four-year-old kids will likely have plenty of questions of what they witnessed.

"We're gonna have to be very careful how we answer that. Just to know that there's bad people out there and they need to be careful," Perez said.

Perez added that the cargo van's door kept flapping and he could not see the license plate.

Anyone with information on the van or the man driving it is asked to call Miami-Dade Crimestoppers at (305) 471-TIPS.

CBS4 reporter Tiffani Helberg contributed to this report

Clayton Weatherston 'Stabbed Girl 216 Times'

A New Zealand mother has gone into gruesome detail in describing how she watched a man stab her daughter 216 times.

Lesley Elliott told the High Court at Christchurch how she broke into her daughter, Sophie’s, bedroom only to see Sophie’s ex-boyfriend Clayton Weatherston straddling her legs and stabbing her over and over again in complete silence.

Weatherston is claiming provocation as a defence to the murder charge, at a trial expected to run for three weeks before Justice Judith Potter and a jury.

“I thought he was going right through her," Mrs Elliott said.

Her daughter suffered stabs wound to almost every part of her body.

Her ears, part of her nose, one nipple and one of her inner labia were cut off.

She had 45 stab wounds to her throat and 26 to her temple as well as both her eyes and concentrated wounds to one cheek and the left side of her neck.

“I never heard him say a word,” Mrs Elliott told the court.

She ran upstairs to her daughter’s bedroom after hearing her daughter screaming, but couldn’t break the door down.

She said the screaming stopped and was replaced by rhythmic “thumping”, which she thought meant Mr Weatherston was raping her daughter.

Mrs Elliott finally managed to open the door with a meat skewer and was on the phone to emergency services when she laid eyes on the horrific scene in front of her.

"I screamed and screamed: 'He's killed her, he's killed her’," she told the court.

“The whole room was red,” she said.

Earlier that day, Sophie was packing her bags for a move to a new job in Wellington.

Before she left, Mrs Elliott answered the door to find Mr Weatherston holding a supermarket bag, claiming he had “something to give” Sophie.

The two went up to Sophie’s bedroom, and the next time Mrs Elliott saw her daughter, she was lying on her bed on her back with Mr Weatherston stabbing her.

He pushed her back out of the room and closed the door.

Emergency services told Mrs Elliott to go outside and wait for the police.

Accused Cat Killer Released From Jail

PALMETTO BAY, Fla. -- Tyler Weinman, the teen accused of killing and mutilating at least 19 cats in South Florida in recent months has been released from jail.

Weinman, 18, posted bond on Tuesday, but could not be released pending results of his psychiatric evaluation.

Judge John Thornton released Weinman, saying the teen was "competent" to be released under electronic monitoring. Thornton said Weinman would be allowed to attend the counseling recommended by a doctor.

Weinman's father and stepmother were present at the hearing but they left the courtroom without comment.

As Weiman awaited the results of a psychiatric evaluation to determine his immediate fate, friends of the Weiman family spoke with Local 10 about the man police said is responsible for killing and mutilating at least 19 cats in his South Florida community.

They described him as "smart, polite, a nice young man" -- the polar opposite of the teen accused of 19 counts of animal cruelty, four counts of burglary and 19 counts of improper disposing of an animal's body.

Friends told Local 10's Jonathan Vigliotti that the family has taken their son’s arrest very hard.

“She’s a good person. She volunteers and takes care of the elderly. She can’t believe this is happening,” said Robert Ehrman about Weinman’s mother, Alba.

The two moved in across the street from Ehrman 3 years ago, after the teen's mother separated from his father.

Alba Weinmen spoke with Ehrman the night her son was arrested.

"She was just devastated, shaken that this would happen," Ehrman said.

Friends of Weinman’s father and stepmother said they are overwhelmed by the development.

Since Weinman's arrest, the family's personal information -- from phone numbers to addresses -- has been published on blogs throughout the Internet. The Wienmans have allegedly received threatening phone calls at home and at work.

Detectives said they have no doubt Weinman is the ringleader of a group that stalked, captured and violently killed cats ins the Cutler Bay and Palmetto Bay area. Miami-Dade police say that of the 33 dead cats reported since April, 19 of them are being linked to Weinman.

If found guilty, Weinman could face time in prison. But family friends said that until then, it is important to treat him as innocent until proven guilty.

2 Children Found Dead In Car Trunk

SPRINGDALE, Ark. -- Two children are dead after police said they were found in the trunk of a car at an apartment complex.

The victims were found at about 5 p.m. and declared dead at the scene.

The children were described as a 5-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl.

Their mother told investigators she last saw them at about 3:50 p.m. Monday.

Police got the call about 35 minutes later.

The complex is located at 347 Sage Street, which is near the intersection of East Emma Avenue and Old Missouri Road

Police Arrest Suspect In Cat Killings

PALMETTO BAY, Fla. -- Police have arrested the man they say is responsible for a string of cat killings in South Florida.

Tyler Weinman, 18, lives in the area and is now in police custody, police said. He is charged with 19 counts of animal cruelty, four counts of burglary and 19 counts of improper disposing of an animal body.

"Our communities of Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay have been on edge for many weeks now because of the horrific and unspeakable slaughterings of many of their beloved feline pets. I sincerely hope that with his arrest, the residents will feel relieved and their cats will be safe once again. It is expected that the vicious crimes that have plagued these communities will not be repeated," said Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle.

"I commend the police officers of the Miami-Dade Police Department and senior trial counsel Michael Von Zamft who worked tirelessly and exhaustively with our law enforcement partners in order to put an end to these acts of cruelty. My heart goes out to the pet owners who have suffered such a great loss," Fernandez Rundle said.

On Sunday night one homeowner told Local 10, "I didn't think it would be somebody in this neighborhood. I never suspected anybody in this area."

On Saturday, Miami-Dade police issued arrest warrants for suspects and said they were working to make arrests in the case.

Circuit Judge Darryl Trawick signed the arrest warrant for Weiman.

Miami-Dade police said that since April, 33 cases involving dead cats have been reported. Eighteen of the cases, which involved a total of 19 dead cats, have been confirmed as animal cruelty, police said. Those cases happened in Palmetto Bay, Cutler Bay and Kendall.

Palmetto Bay officials said police plan to serve warrants to multiple suspects, but they did not say how many.

Palmetto Bay resident Wayne Edwards transformed his backyard into a playground for his cats. He had 17 of the animals, but he is down to 16 after one was found slain and mutilated in a neighbor's front lawn.

"Why come here in this area and kill innocent cats? They are not doing anybody any harm," Edwards said.

More than 150 residents gathered at a town hall meeting Saturday morning to discuss the cat killings.

"This terrible time has drawn us together as a community, further emphasizing the importance of knowing our neighbors, communicating with each other and always staying vigilant to suspicious activities whenever or wherever they may occur in our village," Palmetto Bay Mayor Eugene P. Flinn Jr. said in the news release.

The reward for information leading to an arrest in the case was up to $12,000. The investigation continues.

Tortured Teen Testimony Released

A 16-year-old allegedly tortured for a year inside a Tracy home told a grand jury that he escaped because his captors talked about killing him and dumping his body in the Delta.

Afraid for his life, the boy — called Kyle in court papers — fled the Tennis Lane home on Dec. 1 by unlocking himself from the fireplace to which he was chained and using a trampoline to hop over the backyard wall. He then limped across an adjacent parking lot and into the lobby of a sports club, where employees called police for help.

After he heard his alleged captors talking on speakerphone about how they planned to cut off his fingers with a meat cleaver, Kyle said he knew then that he had to find a way out.

“I had to hurry up and leave or it was just going to be the end from there,” he said in a newly unsealed 928-page transcript of a grand jury hearing that led to a slew of indictments against the four adults accused of imprisoning Kyle.

Husband and wife Michael Schumacher and Kelly Lau were arrested in December along with next-door neighbor Anthony Waiters and a woman named Carén Ramirez who called herself Kyle’s mom. Police said they starved, drugged and beat the boy for as many as 18 months after he fled a Sacramento group home in spring 2007.

The four could spend life in prison if found guilty of the several charges of torture, kidnapping, false imprisonment, assault with caustic chemicals and other forms of abuse. All except Schumacher pleaded not guilty to all charges. He has yet to enter a plea. The four are due in court again on June 18.

Kyle told the grand jury that the abuse escalated from slapping and punching to slicing flesh and drawing blood for offenses as minor as forgetting to feed the dog or for taking food to slake his hunger.

Waiters once sliced Kyle’s arm with a steak knife, Kyle said. Ramirez held his arm down and Kyle screamed, the boy alleged. Kyle said that afterwards, the pair poured bleach on his cuts and doctored them with salt and butter before wrapping his arm in a paper towel.

Other times, Ramirez, Lau and Waiters would stick an aluminum baseball bat into the fireplace and brand Kyle’s back, the teen said.

“Carén and Kelly came up with the idea of, like, heating the bat up, and then I guess they started branding me with the bat,” Kyle said.

The boy said Schumacher would sometimes punch him in the face until he passed out. Kyle also said he was chained to the fireplace, where he was forced to sleep most nights.

Lau used a belt once to choke him until he lost consciousness, Kyle said. She allegedly strapped a belt around his neck and buckled it. He dropped to the fireplace hearth and his arm fell on the grate while the fire blazed, he said.

“When I first woke up, I didn’t know what happened or anything,” he said. “So then I immediately noticed my arm was, like, discolored and everything, and I was, like, really freaking out, and at first I didn’t feel anything.”

To treat the burn, Kyle said Ramirez would just pour bleach on it. His wounds scabbed over and became infected.

The boy said he never saw a physician and had been kept out of school since the eighth grade.

He said he hasn’t seen his mother, Susan Barnett, since he was about 8 years old, when Ramirez somehow obtained custody of him and his brother. Barnett has since died.

Kyle said Ramirez talked him into running away from a Sacramento foster home. He wound up living with her and a woman named Catherine Cockrell in Pleasanton. Cockrell introduced Ramirez to Lau and Schumacher, who opened up their home to the pair in July 2007.

From there, Kyle recounts horrific abuse. He said the family forced him to do all the chores and make him kneel for hours on the floor until his knees hurt. He said he was hit constantly and never got to shower. The family, he said, would rarely call him by his real name, and Ramirez, he added, would refer to him as “Iggit.”

Kyle was allegedly abused nearly every day until he bled, and that’s the only reason he ever got new clothes, he said.

Sometime in fall 2008, Lau poured him a cup of “Red Hot Damn,” a spicy cinnamon liquor, said Waiters’ niece, Chelsea Waiters, 16. She said Kyle drank it, got sick and vomited. Lau then screamed at him, Chelsea told grand jurors.

At other times, the adults would force him to chew marijuana and make him drink liquor, the boy said.

The four Schumacher children, ages 1 through 9, said they understood that what was happening to Kyle was “bad,” but they didn’t want to tell anyone. The oldest child said she actually liked that Kyle lived with her family because he would hang out with her and help her with homework.

Grand jurors also interviewed detectives, friends and family of both the victim and the suspects and neighbors.