Saturday, January 12, 2008

CESAR LAUREAN: Driving black Dodge pickup, tags TRR 1522

Marine Cpl. Cesar Laurean, 21
Remember this face!
Together, we can find this killer!

CHOMP'S CLUES TO THE CRIME


Cesar Laurean may be driving this black Dodge pickup,
North Carolina license TRR 1522

*Marine Cpl. Cesar Laurean is accused of sexually assaulting Marine Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, and being the father of her unborn child.

*Cpl. Maria Lauterbach was scheduled to testify against him in court.

*Detectives report that no calls were made from Maria's cell phone, which was found dumped
near the main entrance of Camp Lejeune on Dec. 20.

*Police do say that her ATM card was used by an unidentified man on Christmas Eve, and that
her car was recovered on the night of January 8, 2008 at a Jacksonville, N.C. Bus Station.

*Police would not say what Laurean's wife knew of the murder, but confirmed that she was the
witness who came forward with a note her husband left her saying Maria had slit her own throat, and that he had buried her. Mrs. Christina Laurean found the note four hours after herhusband had left at 4:00 a.m.

Possible locations:
*National
*Clark County, NV
*Police say Laurean is from Clark County, Nevada.


CALL "AMERICA'S MOST WANTED" TIP LINE...

1 - 800 - CRIME -TV

MICHEL VEILLETTE: KILLS WIFE, 4 KIDS, BURNS HOUSE

MICHEL (MICHAEL) VEILLETTE


Samantha Grier
The house in the Hickory Woods subdivision of Mason where Michael Veillette is accused of killing his wife and four children.

THE ENQUIRER/ AMIE DWORECKI
Fire crews and police worked through the night and into the morning investigating the deaths of a mother and her four young children in their Mason home.


A makeshift memorial set up by friends and neighbors outside the Veillette home, where a mother and her four children were killed.
The Enquirer / Joseph Fuqua II



By Amie Dworecki, The Enquirer
Police and emergency vehicles park in front of a charred house in Cincinnati, Ohio, Saturday, where a woman and her four children died in a fire started by her husband, authorities said.


Ohio man charged with killing wife, 4 kids
The (Cincinnati) Enquirer staff

MASON, Ohio — A Mason, Ohio, man faces five charges of murder after allegedly killing his wife and four young children and setting fire to his house Friday night.

Mason police this morning charged Michel Veillette, 34, with four counts of aggravated murder, one count of murder and one count of aggravated arson. Veillette, who had knife wounds, was listed in critical but stable condition at University Hospital, police spokesman Troy Nelson said.

Dead are Nadya Ferrari-Veillette, 33, and her four children: Marguerite, 8; Vincent, 4; and twins Jacob and Mia, 3.


A white cross was placed near the home's mailbox as a memorial to the victims grew Saturday. A white teddy bear was placed next to it.

FIND MORE STORIES IN: Police Saturday Ohio Mason Vincent Troy Nelson

By 12:15 p.m. there were six animals around the cross as well as some handmade cards and artificial flowers.

A steady stream of cars flowed up and down this small street as word got around the community of the fire and deaths.

The mother suffered stab wounds; the children did not, Nelson said at a 7:30 a.m. news conference.

He said police didn't find any witnesses except for the passing motorist who reported the fire.
Police had not had any previous calls or runs to the home, Nelson said.
First a fire, then a crime scene

Mason fire units were dispatched at 9:59 p.m. to a reported house fire. Upon arriving at 10:03 p.m. the firefighters found the father on the front lawn with stab wounds.

"There's just smoke barreling out the window," said a 911 caller who pulled up in front of the house. "Flames are coming out the front window."


The mother and one child were found dead inside the house. Three other children were taken to Bethesda North Hospital, where they died.

LAM LUONG UPDATE: ONE MURDERED CHILD FOUND, 3 MISSING

Lam Luong, in custody for killing his 4 children


Map of Bayou La Batre, Alabama showing bridge to Dauphin Island



Known as the Seafood Capitol of Alabama, Bayou La Batre is naturally a leader in commercial fishing as well as the seafood industry. Our seafood processors are among the most progressive and highly regarded seafood firms in the nation.

An Alabama State Trooper helicopter flies over the Dauphin Island Bridge Thursday, Jan. 10, 2008. The search for four children, whose father Lam Luong claims to have thrown from the bridge to Dauphin Island, Ala. Monday morning, continued Thursday. (AP Photo/Press-Register, Bill Starling)


Body of 1 of 4 Kids Found in Ala. Water
By GARRY MITCHELL – 1 hour ago

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — A duck hunter on Saturday found the body of the youngest of four children allegedly thrown from a coastal bridge by their father, raising hopes that the other bodies will be recovered, a sheriff said.

A search for the children — ranging in age from a few months to 3 years — began Tuesday near the mouth of Mobile Bay after prosecutors said the father, Lam Luong, confessed.

About 9 a.m. Saturday, a duck hunter found the body of an infant about five miles west of the bridge in a marshy area.

"The inevitable nightmare we have feared has now been confirmed," Mobile County Sheriff Sam Cochran said. "We believe, certainly now, that the father of these children threw these children off the Dauphin Island bridge."

Cochran said a police chaplain informed the children's family of the discovery Saturday morning. Their mother, 23-year-old Kieu Phan, had gone with Luong to report them missing Monday evening.

When told that her infant's body had been found, a grief-stricken Phan wept, comforted by an associated pastor at a Vietnamese congregation that includes some members of her family.
Through an interpreter, Phan asked, "Why didn't he kill me instead of the children? It's too much hurting."

Cochran said searchers using sonar technology saw images Friday that they believed were three bodies, but the currents were so strong the divers were unable to get to the location.

Divers re-entered the water Saturday and worked until darkness forced them out of the water without finding the other three bodies. The search zone has expanded westward to Pascagoula, Miss. and will resume Sunday morning.

Luong, 37, a shrimp boat worker who lives in Irvington, was being held without bond on four counts of capital murder. If convicted, he could be sentenced to death or life in prison without parole.

MORE...

Friday, January 11, 2008

CARNATION UPDATE: KILLERS PLEAD "NOT GUILTY"

ERIKA SCHULTZ / THE SEATTLE TIMES
A vase of flowers is left outside of Scott and Erica Anderson's house in Black Diamond on Thursday, with a note that reads, "We will miss you."


KEN LAMBERT / THE SEATTLE TIMES
Mary Anderson, center, whose parents and four other family members were killed, cries during her sister's arraignment Thursday.


KEN LAMBERT / THE SEATTLE TIMES
Joseph McEnroe and his girlfriend, Michele Anderson, are accused of killing six members of her family.


KEN LAMBERT / THE SEATTLE TIMES
Murder suspect Michele Anderson leaves a King County courtroom after her arraignment Thursday.

Pair plead not guilty in Carnation slayings
By Natalie Singer, Seattle Times staff reporter
Friday, January 11, 2008

As she waited for her sister to enter a King County courtroom Thursday morning, Mary Anderson closed her eyes, clasped her hands beneath her trembling chin and slowly exhaled.

When Michele Kristen Anderson was led in by jail guards, Mary Anderson began to shake and cry from behind the bulletproof window separating her and dozens of friends and family members from the two suspects accused of slaying six members of the sisters' family on Christmas Eve.

Michele Anderson and her boyfriend Joseph McEnroe, both 29, each pleaded not guilty to six counts of aggravated murder in the six slayings.

Mary Anderson clenched her fists and slowly shook her head. "That doesn't mean they're going to get away with it," she told her family and friends surrounding her at the arraignment.

Michele Anderson and McEnroe could face the death penalty if convicted of killing Anderson's parents, Wayne Anderson, 60, and Judith, 61; her brother, Scott; his wife, Erica; and the couple's two children, Olivia, 5, and Nathan, 3, inside the elder Andersons' Carnation home.

King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg has 30 days from the arraignment to decide whether to seek the death penalty for the two, who are being held without bail. They will return to court Jan. 29.

The suspects were dressed in street clothes and free of handcuffs after Judge Cheryl Carey ruled this week that appearing in their High Security Inmate uniforms and restraints could prejudice a future jury.

READ COURT UPDATE...

CPL. MARIA LAUTERBACH DEAD: SUSPECT CPL. CESAR LAUREAN MISSING

Marine Cpl. Maria Frances Lauterbach


The search is on for Marine Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean, 21,
suspected rapist/killer of Marine Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, and father of her unborn child.


Investigators search for the body of Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach Friday.


Police are looking for a suspect driving this truck


A plain clothes Onslow County Sheriff's Deputy stands guard at the entrance to Meadow Trail near Jacksonville, N.C., on Friday, Jan.11, 2008, while deputies restrict traffic in the neighborhood where Marine Cpl Cesar Armando Lauren lives. Lauren is a suspect in the disappearance and death of pregnant Marine Lance Cpl Maria Frances Lauterbach. (AP Photo/Randy Davey)


Blood, possible grave of pregnant Marine found at suspect's house

JACKSONVILLE, North Carolina (CNN) -- Police believe they have found the remains of a missing Marine buried in the backyard of the prime suspect in the case and blood spatter evidence inside his home, authorities said Friday evening.

Tests found the "trace of violent activity in the house" and "evidence of an attempted cleanup," said Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown.

Investigators are treating the death of Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach as a murder, Brown added. Lauterbach, 20 -- who was eight months pregnant -- was reported missing from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, by her mother December 19.

Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean, whom Lauterbach had accused of rape, is the suspected killer, and is being sought, Brown said.

He confirmed that Laurean had left a note, but did not divulge what it said.

Investigators told CNN, however, that Laurean left a note to his wife saying Lauterbach had committed suicide and that he buried the body.

"Evidence now is saying what he's claiming happened did not happen like he said it happened," Brown said.

Authorities searching Laurean's home found a cavity in his backyard earlier Friday.
A preliminary investigation indicated a "suspicious situation," prompting police to secure the scene and wait for daylight Saturday.


"We think that we have found what would be the skeletal remains [of Lauterbach]," Onslow County District Attorney Dewey Hudson told reporters.

While authorities will not know for sure until Saturday, "there are certainly some strong indicators that there are human remains" buried in the cavity, he said.

"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand if there's a cavity out back and blood on the inside, that's probably going to be a key location for where this crime may have taken place," Brown said.

He also hinted that investigators have uncovered more twists in the case.

"I do think this case is going to be a bizarre ending, and when I say bizarre, more than just a death and a burial."

JUST HOW BIZARRE IS THIS STORY?

MARIA LAUTERBACH: PREGNANT MARINE -DEAD OR AWOL?


Sheriff Expects Missing Pregnant Marine's Roommate Will Provide Break in Case
Friday, January 11, 2008
Associated Press


LANCE CPL MARIA LAUTERBACH

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. — The sheriff investigating the disappearance of a 20-year-old pregnant Marine said he expected a break in the case Friday once detectives further interview a man who lived with her.

"He's going to answer some questions that I think will shed a lot of light on this case," Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown said early Friday, promising a "major announcement" around midday.

The roommate, Marine Sgt. Daniel Durham, isn't a suspect in the case. But authorities believe Durham to be the last person to speak with the missing woman, who is due to give birth in mid-February, and may have been monitoring the case while on a training mission in California.

Brown has stressed the case remains a missing-person investigation.
The Marine, who vanished last month before she was to testify in a military probe, had said she was sexually assaulted by a senior officer but that the investigation had gone sour, according to court documents.

The woman, a lance corporal, made the allegation to her stepmother, who also told investigators that her stepdaughter was bipolar and had a history of compulsive lying, according to the documents filed this week.


The documents state Naval investigators had struggled to investigate the woman's allegations because of inconsistencies in her account. Still, the court papers said the anticipated birth of the baby "might provide evidentiary credence to charges she lodged with military authorities that she was sexually assaulted by a senior military person."

Authorities said Thursday they planned to question the superior officer at Camp Lejeune. Her stepmother said the officer threatened the missing woman's career, and search warrants filed this week state the woman was facing a possible discharge from the Marine Corps. No reason was provided.

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED?

Thursday, January 10, 2008

COLUMBIA: REBEL FARCS RELEASE 2 WOMEN AFTER 5 YEARS


Colombian politicians Consuelo Gonzalez (L) and Clara Rojas (2nd R) are welcomed by Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez (C) after being freed at Miraflores Palace in Caracas
January 10, 2008. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

Colombian Rebels Free Two Women Hostages
Thursday, January 10, 2008

SAN JOSE DE GUAVIARE, Colombia — Rebels freed two hostages in the remote Colombian jungle Thursday after more than five years of captivity, handing the women over to Venezuelan officials who flew them toward Caracas, where a triumphant Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez awaited.

The freed Colombians were flown by helicopter to an airstrip in the Venezuelan border town of Santo Domingo, where they were helped onto a small passenger jet that was to fly them to Caracas.

It was the most important hostage release in the Colombian conflict since 2001, when the FARC freed some 300 soldiers and police officers. Chavez said he hopes the mission opens the way for the release of more hostages.

"Venezuela will continue opening the way for peace in Colombia. We are ready, and in contact with the FARC, and we hope the Colombian government understands. I'm sure they will understand," Chavez said. "The world wants peace for Colombia."

Rojas was kidnapped in February 2002 while campaigning with Betancourt in a FARC-dominated region of southern Colombia. Gonzalez was abducted by the FARC in September 2001 near the city of Neiva. During her captivity, she lost her husband and a grandchild was born to one of her daughters.

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe authorized Venezuela to spearhead the rescue mission despite a bitter clash with Chavez over his involvement in Colombia's half-century-old guerrilla conflict.

In November, Uribe abruptly ended efforts by Chavez to broker a swap of 46 high-profile hostages — including Betancourt and three U.S. defense contractors — for hundreds of jailed rebels. He accused Chavez of unauthorized direct contacts with Colombia's military.

But relatives of the hostages urged Chavez to continue, and the FARC, which deeply distrusts Uribe, rewarded his efforts by offering to release the two women and Rojas's 3-year old son, Emmanuel — who was fathered in captivity by one of her guerrilla captors.

READ ABOUT LONG-AWAITED RELEASE...

CAMILLE PAGLIA: HILLARY IS "BRITTLE, RELENTLESS MANIPULATOR"


Hillary without tears
Why it's time to close the book on the Clintons -- and herald the Obamas!

Plus: Iran war hawks, Russian drag queens and the genius of Zeppelin.

By Camille Paglia


But Hillary herself, with her thin, spotty record, tangled psychological baggage, and maundering blowhard of a husband, is also a mighty big roll of the dice. She is a brittle, relentless manipulator with few stable core values who shuffles through useful personalities like a card shark ("Cue the tears!"). Forget all her little gold crosses: Hillary's real god is political expediency. Do Americans truly want this hard-bitten Machiavellian back in the White House? Day one will just be more of the same.

THIS IS A MUST-READ...

BANITA JACKS: WASHINGTON DC MOM KILLED 4 DAUGHTERS


BANITA JACKS, 33, WASHINGTON DC KILLER MOM


(DANA VERKOUTEREN/Associated Press)
This artist's courtroom sketch shows Banita Jacks during her appearance Thursday at the District of Columbia Superior Court in Washington. Jacks, found in her home with the decomposing bodies of four girls was charged Thursday with murder after reportedly telling investigators that the children were possessed by demons and died in their sleep.


Mother Charged in 4 D.C. Girls' Deaths
Thursday, January 10, 2008
By SARAH KARUSH, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON — A mother found in her home with the decomposing bodies of her four daughters was charged Thursday with murder after reportedly telling investigators that the children were possessed by demons and died in their sleep.

Banita Jacks, 33, was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and appeared in District of Columbia Superior Court. She told police that the deaths occurred before a utility turned off her electricity, which prosecutors said was in September 2007, according to charging documents.

The bodies of the girls _ ages 5 to 17 _ were found Wednesday when deputy U.S. marshals served an eviction notice at the apartment in southeast Washington.

"I don't think anyone in the city can remember a case involving this many young people who have died in such a tragic way," Mayor Adrian M. Fenty said.

Jacks told investigators that the children were possessed by demons and began dying in their sleep, one by one, within a seven-day period, documents say. She also said she had not fed her children for a substantial time before their deaths.

Medical examiner Dr. Marie-Lydie Pierre-Louis said the bodies were in the apartment more than 15 days, "based on the insects that were found there."

Jacks could receive a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.

Jacks appeared in court in a white jump suit and sandals. She did not speak during the hearing. Superior Court Magistrate Judge Karen Howze ordered her held without bond. Her attorneys had argued that she should be released to the custody of an adult relative pending trial.

The charging documents identify the children as Brittany Jacks, 17; Tatianna Jacks, 11; N'Kiah Fogle, 6; and Aja Fogle, 5.

READ STUNNING UPDATE...

WASHINGTON D.C.: WHO KILLED 4 GIRLS?

Medical examiner's office personnel remove a body from a house

where the bodies of four young girls were found
(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Washington D.C. Police Question Woman About 4 Dead Girls Found in Home
Thursday, January 10, 2008

WASHINGTON — When Larry Jones noticed a foul odor coming through a vent in his apartment, he chalked it up to dead mice and spoke to his landlord.

It wasn't until Wednesday, when U.S. Marshals delivered an eviction notice next door, that Jones learned the real source of the stench: the decomposing bodies of four young people.

Investigators believe the bodies had been there at least two weeks, but it was unclear exactly how and when the victims died, police Chief Cathy Lanier said.

A woman who answered the door was taken into custody for questioning. "She was apparently calm throughout," U.S. Marshals Service spokesman Cole Barnhart said.

Police said it was unclear whether the woman was related to the victims, believed to be girls ranging in age from 5 to 18.

Mayor Adrian Fenty said the condition of the bodies made it difficult to identify them. "It is going to take scientific tests run by the chief medical examiner's office," he said.
Whether the deaths were homicides has yet to be determined.

The bodies were found upstairs in the southeast Washington apartment, part of a block of virtually identical apartment houses near Bolling Air Force Base in one of the city's poorest areas, authorities said.

WHO KILLED THE CHILDREN...
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,321571,00.html

DEBRA LaFAVE: SEX TEACHER VIOLATES PROBATION

DEBRA LaFAVE: MUGSHOT


DEBRA LaFAVE: PINUP POSTER


DEBRA LaFAVE: IN COURT

Debra Lafave Scheduled to Appear in Court
Thursday, January 10, 2008

TAMPA, Fla. — Former middle school teacher and sex offender Debra Lafave is scheduled to appear in a Florida courtroom Thursday.

Lafave will face probation-violation charges stemming from contact with an underage female co-worker at a restaurant where she worked. Last month, her lawyer, John Fitzgibbons, entered a formal denial to the allegations.

According to a Department of Corrections report, Lafave discussed her personal life and other subjects with the co-worker. One of the terms of her probation was that she was not allowed to have unsupervised contact with minors without permission.


Lafave spoke with her teenage co-worker numerous times about family problems, friends, high school, boyfriends and sex, the police report said.



Lafave, 26, is serving three years of house arrest and seven years of probation after pleading guilty to having sex with the 14-year-old boy in a classroom and her home in June 2004.

She was arrested Dec. 4, 2007, and released from jail on her promise to appear in court.

STAY TUNED...

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

MARIA LAUTERBACH: PREGNANT MARINE VANISHES

Pregnant Marine missing from North Carolina base

(CNN) -- A search is under way for a pregnant 20-year-old Marine who has been missing from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, since December 14.

Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach could give birth at any time, Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown told the Jacksonville, North Carolina, Daily News on Monday.

The sheriff's department said Lauterbach's mother said that her daughter, of Montgomery, Ohio, had witnessed an incident at Camp Lejeune and was to testify about it.

Sheriff's department officials said evidence causes them to be concerned about Lauterbach's disappearance, WITN reported.

The Marine's car was found Monday at Jacksonville's bus station, Brown told the Daily News, and her cell phone had been found at Camp Lejeune's front gate on December 20.

Her mother reported her missing on December 19, and told the sheriff's department "that she was very suspicious that something bad may have happened to her daughter," the department said in a news release.


Investigators told the Marine Corps Times that a withdrawal from Lauterbach's bank account was made on December 14 and said there was "suspicious activity" on the account 10 days later. December 14 was also the last time Lauterbach's cell phone was used, authorities told the Marine Corps Times.

The Raleigh News and Observer, citing Brown, reported that the woman's mother said her daughter phoned home or her relatives up to 12 times a week and the mother became concerned when she did not hear from her daughter for five days.

WHERE DID SHE GO...

OTIS BLUNT FOUND IN MEXICO CITY. GOTCHA!

Otis Blunt: Second escapee captured!


Reverend Al Sharpton


Authorities Nab Second Escaped New Jersey Inmate in Mexico City
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Associated Press

ELIZABETH, N.J. — Authorities in Mexico City on Wednesday captured the second of two inmates who made a daring escape nearly four weeks ago from a northern New Jersey jail, the U.S. marshal for New Jersey said.

The apprehension of Otis Blunt came less than a day after federal and local authorities captured his cohort, Jose Espinosa, in a basement apartment a mile from the jail in Elizabeth. Blunt was arrested by Mexican Federal Police about 4:30 p.m. EDT, said Marshal James T. Plousis.

He did not immediately have details on the capture or when Blunt would be returned to New Jersey. "That's not a problem, with extradition," Plousis said.

Authorities and the office of the Rev. Al Sharpton had no immediate word on whether the civil rights leader's visit Tuesday and Wednesday to Mexico City in an effort to arrange Blunt's surrender played a role in the arrest.

Blunt's capture came on the day that authorities revealed that it took guards 20 hours to notice that the two inmates had escaped from the most fortified section of Union County Jail.

The ongoing investigation into the breakout has found no evidence that guards knowingly assisted the prisoners, one of whom was captured Tuesday night in a basement apartment a mile from the jail, Union County prosecutor Theodore J. Romankow said.

READ ABOUT THE CAPTURE...

ALABAMA: LAM LUONG, DAD TOSSES KIDS OFF BRIDGE

Ngoc Phan and three of her children, from left:
Lindsey Luong, Ryan Phan and Hannah Luong.
Photo: AP



LAM LUONG

Police: Man Throws 4 Kids Off Bridge
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Associated Press

BAYOU LA BATRE, Ala. — A man angered after a dispute with his wife confessed to tossing his four young children off a bridge, authorities said Wednesday as they searched murky waters for the bodies.

Lam Luong, 37, who is charged with four counts of capital murder, told authorities Tuesday night that he drove to the Dauphin Island bridge and dropped the children from a span that reaches 80 feet in places, said Detective Scott Rivera.

Luong came to coastal Alabama from Vietnam in 1984 and worked in the commercial fishing industry as a shrimper, Police Chief John Joyner and a relative said. He had argued with his wife, Ngoc Phan, before taking the children, he said.



Missing and presumed dead were 4-month-old Danny Luong; 1-year-old Lindsey Luong; 2-year-old Hannah Luong; and 3-year-old Ryan Phan. Phan is not the man's biological child, but Luong raised him from infancy, authorities said.

(snip)

The couple lived with Phan's mother at Bayou La Batre, a fishing village with a large Southeast Asian community. Phan's brother-in-law Kam Phengsisomboun, who is from Thailand, said the couple moved back to the area from Hinesville, Ga., only a couple of weeks ago.

They argued Sunday night and again Monday, he said. Luong left the home with two of the children, then later came back for the other two, he said.

READ MORE...

MOST WANTED FUGITIVES: CAN YOU HELP?




CHOMP asks for your help in catching the "Bad Guys and Gals." Following are links where you can see the photos and updates of fugitives that need to be captured.






FBI's 10 MOST WANTED

US MARSHALL SERVICE 15 MOST WANTED

INTERPOL'S MOST WANTED

(AMW) AMERICA'S MOST WANTED "DIRTY DOZEN"

JOSE ESPINOSA: ESCAPEE CAPTURED SIX BLOCKS FROM JAIL

N.J. prisoner recaptured after escape that left taunting note
From Deborah Feyerick, CNN

NEW YORK (CNN) -- One of two men who escaped from a county jail in New Jersey last month was back in custody, authorities said.

Federal and local authorities on Tuesday captured Jose Espinosa, 20, who broke out of the Union County Jail on December 15 with fellow inmate Otis Blunt, 32, Union County prosecutor Theodore J. Romankow said.

Acting on a tip, authorities found Espinosa about 9 p.m. Tuesday in an apartment six blocks from the jail, said James Plousis, U.S. marshal for New Jersey. Espinosa was alone in the residence, lying on a couch.

Investigators said they also arrested a "female associate" of Espinosa's. They identified her as Odalys Cortez, 19, of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, and said they plan to file criminal charges against her.

Officials said Espinosa and Blunt escaped by digging a hole through the cinder-block wall of their adjoining cells and hid the hole by using posters of bikini-clad women.

The two then jumped onto a roof and over a 25-foot-high razor wire fence onto a railroad bed. Authorities said Espinosa might have injured his foot making those jumps.

The two left behind dummies in their beds, along with a note thanking prison guard Rudolph Zurick "for the tools needed" and saying, "You're a real pal! Happy holidays."

Zurick committed suicide this week at his home in Sayreville, New Jersey. His attorney, Michael Mitzner, said Zurick had not been charged in the jailbreak and was cooperating with investigators.

READ MORE ABOUT CAPTURE...

Monday, January 7, 2008

GEORGIA: DID GARY HILTON KILL ALL THESE PEOPLE?


Forsyth County Sheriffs Department
Patrice Endres


Suspect in hiker's disappearance may be linked to 3 other cases
By MIKE MORRIS, NANCY BADERTSCHER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 01/07/08

Authorities Monday were checking to see whether three North Georgia missing persons cases — two from recent weeks and one from nearly four years ago — are linked.

Forsyth County officials are investigating the possibility that the man suspected of kidnapping hiker Meredith Emerson may be linked to the disappearance and murder of a Forsyth County hairdresser nearly four years ago, and police in Athens are trying to determine whether he could be connected to the case of a 29-year-old woman who disappeared in late December.

"We're not leaving any stone unturned," said Capt. Frank Huggins, spokesman for the Forsyth County Sheriff's Department.

Huggins said investigators want to look into similarities in Emerson's kidnapping and the unsolved murder of Patrice Endres, who disappeared from her beauty salon north of Cumming on April 15, 2004.

Both cases involved a missing woman, and clues to their disappearance were found in Forsyth County, the spokesman said.

Authorities already have said they believe there could be a connection between the Emerson case and the disappearance and presumed slayings last October of John and Irene Bryant, an elderly couple from North Carolina.

WHAT DO POLICE KNOW...

MEREDITH EMERSON: GEORGIA HIKER'S BODY FOUND

Searchers look for Meredith Emerson in rough terrain


Gary Michael Hilton, charged with kidnapping in the case of a missing hiker,
appears in a Georgia court on Monday.

Missing hiker's body found, ex-roommate says

BLAIRSVILLE, Georgia (CNN) -- The body of Meredith Emerson, the 24-year-old who disappeared New Year's Day while hiking in the north Georgia mountains, has been found, her former roommate told CNN.

The discovery comes a few hours after the man accused in Emerson's disappearance appeared in court in shackles Monday to hear the charge against him.

Gary Michael Hilton, 61, is charged with intent to cause bodily injury to Emerson, who vanished after venturing into the north Georgia mountains with her dog.

She was last seen on New Year's Day, and her dog was found days later in a grocery story parking lot 50 miles away.

Investigators are looking into whether evidence links Hilton to other crimes.

Hilton sat silently in his orange jumpsuit, showing no emotion and keeping his head virtually still during the hearing at Union County Magistrate Court.

After reading the charge against Hilton, Judge Johnie Garmon asked whether the defendant had any questions.

Neil Smith, the public defender representing him, answered "not at this time."
When Garmon asked whether Hilton understands his rights as Garmon had explained them, the attorney gave no direct answer, saying "they will be dealt with."

Police, meanwhile, are trying to determine whether Emerson's disappearance may be linked to the presumed killings of an elderly North Carolina couple.

READ UPDATE OF THIS CRIME...
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/01/07/georgia.hiker/index.html

COLORADO SNOWMOBILERS FOUND ALIVE...HAPPY TO BE RESCUED!



Missing N.M. snowmobilers found alive
By Tom McGhee and Kieran Nicholson, The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 01/07/2008 04:37:21 PM MST

Two snowbound families spent more than two days in a cabin near an isolated train station in southern Colorado before searchers found them this morning.

"We just stayed in the cabin because it was safe," Jason Groen, 36, said when crews on snowmobiles brought him and five others to the top of Cumbres Pass at about 11 a.m, according to the Associated Press.

Groen, the owner of several businesses in Farmington, N.M, his wife and teenage daughter were snowmobiling with with another family near the pass about 30 miles north of Chama.
The group got lost and ran out of gas Friday night.

"The snow was so bad, they had gotten disoriented with the whiteout," Jason Groen's father, Larry, said in a telephone interview this morning.

They took refuge in a cabin near the isolated Osier Station, a small wooden building that serves as summertime stop on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, a tourist line.

Jason Groen's cellphone didn't work in the cabin, and bad weather kept him from leaving to find a place where he could get a signal until this morning.

Groen and his wife, Shannon, periodically climbed to higher ground to call for help. But they were still unable to get a signal, and they feared that if they went any farther, they might lose sight of tracks leading back to the cabin, Larry Groen said.

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STRAIT OF HORMUTH: IRAN GUNBOATS THREATEN US NAVY SHIPS


U.S.: Iranians 'Were a Heartbeat From Being Blown Up'
January 07, 2008 12:57 PM
Jonathan Karl Reports:

The standoff between three U.S. Navy ships and five Iranian speedboats in the Strait of Hormuz Sunday was one step away from turning violent.

"They were a heartbeat from being blown up," a Pentagon official, speaking of the Iranians, told ABC News.

According to the Navy intelligence report on the incident, the Iranians radioed, "I am coming at you. You will blow up in a couple of minutes."

The Navy ships radioed back, presumably transmitting a warning. All three ships also engaged in "evasive action," and according to senior Pentagon officials, the "prepare-to-fire" order had been given and the gun stations manned.

Pentagon officials today expressed surprise the Navy ships allowed at least one of the Iranian speedboats to get so close -- just 200 yards away -- without firing.

They say at least one of those speedboats boasted a machine gun, and all were behaving as if they were packed with explosives.

A Navy official told ABC News that while there have been similar incidents in the Gulf, Sunday's differed because of the "aggressive actions" taken by the Iranians.

"I've never seen a provocation like this is in international waters," another military official who has served for more than 25 years said.

The White House seconded that notion.

"We urge the Iranians to refrain from such provocative actions that could lead to dangerous incidents in the future," White House deputy press secretary Tony Fratto said.

Published reports cite the Iranian Foreign Ministry as confirming the incident but calling it "ordinary."

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http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2008/01/us-iranians-wer.html

NEW MEXICO/COLORADO: 6 SNOWMOBILERS DISAPPEAR

Three members of the Groen family, shown here, are lost near Chama, N.M. Jason, 36, his wife, Shannon, 31, and daughter, Aspen, 14, at top right, are missing after they went on a snowmobiling trip near the Colorado/New Mexico border with another family. The other three daughters are Tegan, 11; Patyn, 8; and Dacyn, 6. (Photo courtesy of Downey family)

Snowmobilers search resumes
Crested Butte resort ski patrolmen Adam Gerber, left, and Eric Baumm monitor the avalanche risk amid a storm that has dumped large amounts of snow across the high country. In southern Colorado, the snow has kept searchers from looking for two missing families. (Crested Butte Mountain Resort )

Crews and equipment are standing by as a winter storm drops feet of snow on the area.01/07/2008 06:08 AM MSTDeep snow and poor visibility have delayed the search for two families who disappeared during a snowmobile trip.

Photo Credit: © Christian Pondella/Red Bull Photofiles
SNOWMOBILING CAN BE FUN...AND DANGEROUS!

6 Snowmobilers Missing in Heavy New Mexico Snow
Monday, January 07, 2008
Associated Press

CONEJOS, Colo. — A search team resumed looking Sunday for six snowmobilers from New Mexico last seen on Friday, before a heavy snow storm dumped as much as three or four feet near Cumbres Pass.

Donna Oney of the Colorado State Patrol said 11 search and rescue team members and three deputies were looking for the snowmobilers. A search from the New Mexico side has been suspended due to snowy conditions and bad roads.

The snowmobilers are members of two Farmington, N.M., families. They are Jason Groen, 36, his wife, Shannon, 31, and daughter, Aspen, 14, said Betty Groen, Jason's stepmother. Groen said they were snowmobiling with Mike Martin, one of Groen's employees, and his wife, Missy, and their son, Jessie, 13.

The six were last seen Friday just north of 10,222-foot-high Cumbres Pass near the New Mexico border.

Betty Groen said the families had visited Shannon Groen's parents in Chama, before heading off to snowmobile Friday morning. They were expected back Friday evening, she said.
New Mexico State Police spokesman Peter Olson said Colorado Highway Patrol found the family's pickup and trailer at a snowmobile parking area in Colorado.

The New Mexico search was suspended Sunday morning, but 2 helicopters were standing by in Taos, N.M., and about 20 snowmobiles and Snowcats owned by trained search and rescue volunteers were ready to go in Chama should the weather cooperate, Olson said.

Olson said New Mexico 17 is unplowed and the gate at the Colorado border is closed. On Sunday, there were whiteout conditions with visibility of three feet in the mountains, he said.
"Our biggest concern is for the safety of the searchers and the road to that point is pretty dangerous because of avalanches and other snow conditions," he said.

CHOMP WILL STAY ON TOP OF THIS NEWS...

CHRISTOPHER McCUIN: TEXAS MAN KILLS, COOKS GIRLFRIEND

Christopher McCuin, 25, and girlfriend, Jana Shearer, 21

Crime scene:
Police found the victim's mutilated body at McCuin's mothers house with an ear boiling in a pot of water and a fork sticking out of a lump of human flesh on a plate


MAP OF TYLER, TEXAS

Police Say Man Killed, Cooked Woman
By PAUL J. WEBER,
AP
Posted: 2008-01-07 07:06:57

TYLER, Texas (Jan. 7) - Deputies responding to a 911 call in this East Texas town found a gruesome scene: a human ear boiling in a pot on a stovetop and a hunk of flesh impaled on a fork sitting atop a plate on the kitchen table.

Authorities believe that the man arrested in the death of his 21-year-old girlfriend cooked parts of her body and may have tried to eat them — actions he described to them in the emergency call that led them to the grisly discovery.

Christopher Lee McCuin, 25, was scheduled to be arraigned Monday on a capital murder charge. He was in solitary confinement at a jail on a $2 million bond Sunday night and did not have an attorney, officials said.

(snip)

Officials believe the horrific chain of events began when Jana Shearer, McCuin's girlfriend, was taken by McCuin from her home late Friday night and killed.

Smith said McCuin then drove to his estranged wife's home, where he stabbed his wife's boyfriend, William Veasley, 42. Veasley was in intensive care Sunday night.

McCuin was still in that home when deputies arrived, but he jumped into his car and escaped after a short chase, Smith said. "We did not know at the time that he had murdered anyone," Smith said. "We thought it was a disturbance or an assault.

"McCuin wasn't seen again until Saturday morning, when he arrived at the home he shared with his mother and called her into the garage so she could "come see what he had done," Smith said.

His mother and her boyfriend saw the remains of Shearer, authorities said. McCuin's mother and her boyfriend fled the home and flagged down a police officer. McCuin dialed 911 after they left and told an emergency dispatcher he had killed Shearer and was boiling her body parts, Smith said.

WARNING! DETAILS ARE SHOCKING...