Socialite Betty Broderick seeks parole in murders
By LINDA DEUTSCH, AP Special Correspondent
Thu Jan 21, 2010 / Associated Press
CHINO, Calif. – Betty Broderick, the one-time San Diego socialite convicted of murdering her ex-husband and his wife, has told a parole board she didn't intend to kill anyone.
In a long, rambling commentary Thursday at a hearing in Chino, Broderick says she doesn't remember what happened the day she shot the couple in their bed in 1989. However, she said she felt she had no other choice but to kill them or herself. She says she "couldn't let them win."
The hearing, which was continuing through the afternoon, is Broderick's first date with a parole board in her quest for freedom.
The 62-year-old was convicted in 1991 of second-degree murder and sentenced to 32 years to life in prison. Her story became the subject of a book and two TV movies.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
CHINO, Calif. (AP) — Two decades after Betty Broderick drew national attention for fatally shooting her ex-husband and his new wife in their bed, the former San Diego socialite has her first date with a parole board Thursday in her quest for freedom.
The hearing is likely to examine her claims that years of emotional abuse by her lawyer husband drove her to kill.
Broderick, 62, was convicted in 1991 of second-degree murder and sentenced to 32 years to life in prison. Her story became the subject of a book and two TV movies. She has maintained she was a victim of battered-wife syndrome and was driven to kill by a bitter and prolonged divorce and custody battle.
BETTY BRODERICK DENIED PAROLE. NO REMORSE FOR MURDERS...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100121/ap_on_re_us/us_broderick_parole
"TAKING BITES OUT OF CRIME NEWS!" MURDERS, VANISHED, MISSING, MYSTERIES, FORENSICS, COLD CASE, MOST WANTED, CRIME TIP LINES
Saturday, January 23, 2010
FLORIDA: RONALD CUMMINGS, MISTY CROSLIN DEALING DRUGS, ARRESTED
Haleigh Cummings family members arrested
Charged with trafficking prescription medications
Updated Friday, 22 Jan 2010 / By NICK FOKIANOS FOX 35 News
My Fox Orlando.com
The father of missing Putnam County girl Haleigh Cummings along with his ex-wife are behind bars. Misty Croslin, 18, and her ex-husband Ronald Cummings, 26, were arrested on Wednesday, along with Misty's older brother, Ronald's cousin and a friend of theirs. They face charges of trafficking prescription drugs
The Putnam County Sheriff's Office , along with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, have been investigating the couple for the last month. They say over the course of that investigation, the crew either bought prescription drugs from undercover agents or sold painkillers to those agents.
Investigators said Misty took part in all seven transactions and Ronald helped in three. Hope Sykes, Donna Broch and Tommy Croslin, Jr. each took part in one sale.
Misty has been living with her brother, Hank, Jr., and his wife Lindsay since she divorced Ronald Cummings. "Did you have any strange traffic coming to the house?" FOX 35 asked Lindsay Croslin. "No. Nothing, just regular friends came over," said Lindsay Croslin.
Investigators said they arrested Misty and Ronald Cummings together when they went to purchase a large amount of Oxycodone and Hydrocodone from an undercover officer. Ronald has been living with his grandmother, Annette Sykes, in Welaka, since his daughter was reported missing in February of last year.
(snip)
Misty Croslin's bail is set at $950,000. Cummings bail is set at $500,000. Investigators said charges are still pending on a seventh incident where Misty Croslin participated in a prescription transaction with an undercover drug agent.
HALEIGH CUMMINGS' DAD AND STEP-MOM: WHAT WERE RONALD CUMMINGS AND MISTY CROSLIN THINKING??????
http://www.myfoxorlando.com/dpp/news/cummings_case/012110-haleigh-cummings-family
Charged with trafficking prescription medications
Updated Friday, 22 Jan 2010 / By NICK FOKIANOS FOX 35 News
My Fox Orlando.com
The father of missing Putnam County girl Haleigh Cummings along with his ex-wife are behind bars. Misty Croslin, 18, and her ex-husband Ronald Cummings, 26, were arrested on Wednesday, along with Misty's older brother, Ronald's cousin and a friend of theirs. They face charges of trafficking prescription drugs
The Putnam County Sheriff's Office , along with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, have been investigating the couple for the last month. They say over the course of that investigation, the crew either bought prescription drugs from undercover agents or sold painkillers to those agents.
Investigators said Misty took part in all seven transactions and Ronald helped in three. Hope Sykes, Donna Broch and Tommy Croslin, Jr. each took part in one sale.
Misty has been living with her brother, Hank, Jr., and his wife Lindsay since she divorced Ronald Cummings. "Did you have any strange traffic coming to the house?" FOX 35 asked Lindsay Croslin. "No. Nothing, just regular friends came over," said Lindsay Croslin.
Investigators said they arrested Misty and Ronald Cummings together when they went to purchase a large amount of Oxycodone and Hydrocodone from an undercover officer. Ronald has been living with his grandmother, Annette Sykes, in Welaka, since his daughter was reported missing in February of last year.
(snip)
Misty Croslin's bail is set at $950,000. Cummings bail is set at $500,000. Investigators said charges are still pending on a seventh incident where Misty Croslin participated in a prescription transaction with an undercover drug agent.
HALEIGH CUMMINGS' DAD AND STEP-MOM: WHAT WERE RONALD CUMMINGS AND MISTY CROSLIN THINKING??????
http://www.myfoxorlando.com/dpp/news/cummings_case/012110-haleigh-cummings-family
Thursday, January 21, 2010
APPOMATTOX: CHRISTOPHER SPEIGHT KILLED RELATIVES, PLANTED BOMBS
Va. Rampage Suspect's Relatives Among the Dead
Thursday, January 21, 2010 / Associated Press
APPOMATTOX, Virginia — The security guard accused of unleashing a bloodbath that killed eight people and planting bombs on his shared, quiet Virginia homestead had complained to a friend that he feared being turned out of the house by his sister and brother-in-law.
The couple was among the dead identified late Wednesday by police, shortly after they charged 39-year-old Christopher Bryan Speight with first-degree murder. The other victims of Tuesday morning's rampage were two adults, three teenagers and a 4-year-old boy.
Authorities have refused to offer a motive for the slayings, but Speight told a friend and former employer he was worried about being kicked out of the house.
Speight never wanted to talk about it, but he "constantly paced the floor," said David Anderson, co-owner of the Sunshine Market grocery store in Lynchburg where Speight sometimes worked. "I thought he was going to wear a trench in it."
The house was where police found most of the bodies. Speight gave himself up to police early Wednesday after leading investigators on an 18-hour manhunt. A bomb squad discovered a multitude of explosives the home, and crews were detonating the devices into the night.
(snip)
After Speight's surrender, Bomb squads discovered what police called "a multitude" of explosive devices planted in the house and outdoors. They began methodically detonating them, blowing up seven until rain forced them to stop. The detonations were expected to resume Thursday.
UPDATE ON CHRISTOPHER SPEIGHT'S RAMPAGE AND EXPLOSIVES...
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,583512,00.html?test=latestnews
Thursday, January 21, 2010 / Associated Press
APPOMATTOX, Virginia — The security guard accused of unleashing a bloodbath that killed eight people and planting bombs on his shared, quiet Virginia homestead had complained to a friend that he feared being turned out of the house by his sister and brother-in-law.
The couple was among the dead identified late Wednesday by police, shortly after they charged 39-year-old Christopher Bryan Speight with first-degree murder. The other victims of Tuesday morning's rampage were two adults, three teenagers and a 4-year-old boy.
Authorities have refused to offer a motive for the slayings, but Speight told a friend and former employer he was worried about being kicked out of the house.
Speight never wanted to talk about it, but he "constantly paced the floor," said David Anderson, co-owner of the Sunshine Market grocery store in Lynchburg where Speight sometimes worked. "I thought he was going to wear a trench in it."
The house was where police found most of the bodies. Speight gave himself up to police early Wednesday after leading investigators on an 18-hour manhunt. A bomb squad discovered a multitude of explosives the home, and crews were detonating the devices into the night.
(snip)
After Speight's surrender, Bomb squads discovered what police called "a multitude" of explosive devices planted in the house and outdoors. They began methodically detonating them, blowing up seven until rain forced them to stop. The detonations were expected to resume Thursday.
UPDATE ON CHRISTOPHER SPEIGHT'S RAMPAGE AND EXPLOSIVES...
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,583512,00.html?test=latestnews
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
TEMPE, AZ: BABY GABRIEL JOHNSON, 8 MONTHS, MISSING OR DEAD?
Photographs Taken on Last Day Arizona Baby Seen Concern Police
Tuesday, January 19, 2010 /Associated Press
TEMPE, Ariz. — Newly released photographs taken the last day a missing Arizona baby was seen show the boy as lethargic and holding what appears to be a medicine bottle.
Tempe police Sgt. Steve Carbajal says the photos are from the camera of the baby's mother, 23-year-old Elizabeth Johnson.
Police have had the photos for weeks, and Carbajal says he doesn't know why the department is releasing them now.
He says the pictures raise questions about Johnson's treatment of 8-month-old Gabriel Johnson.
TEMPE, ARIZONA: WHERE IS BABY GABRIEL JOHNSON? IS ELIZABETH JOHNSON LYING? BABY GABRIEL LOOKS SICK, DIRTY IS LAST PHOTOS...
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,583392,00.html
Tuesday, January 19, 2010 /Associated Press
TEMPE, Ariz. — Newly released photographs taken the last day a missing Arizona baby was seen show the boy as lethargic and holding what appears to be a medicine bottle.
Tempe police Sgt. Steve Carbajal says the photos are from the camera of the baby's mother, 23-year-old Elizabeth Johnson.
Police have had the photos for weeks, and Carbajal says he doesn't know why the department is releasing them now.
He says the pictures raise questions about Johnson's treatment of 8-month-old Gabriel Johnson.
TEMPE, ARIZONA: WHERE IS BABY GABRIEL JOHNSON? IS ELIZABETH JOHNSON LYING? BABY GABRIEL LOOKS SICK, DIRTY IS LAST PHOTOS...
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,583392,00.html
APPOMATTOX, VA: CHRISTOPHER SPEIGHT KILLS 8, SHOOTS HELICOPTER
Shooter Kills 8 in Virginia, Cops Corner Suspect
Wednesday, January 20, 2010 / Associated Press
APPOMATTOX, Va. — Schools were shutdown in a rural Virginia county as police searched for a gunman Wednesday who they believe killed eight people at a nearby home and forced down a police helicopter after shooting its fuel tank.
State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said investigators used dogs and heat-sensing equipment to search overnight for Christopher Speight, 39, in a wooded area in Appomattox County, about 100 miles southwest of Richmond. Authorities believe he is armed with a high-powered rifle.
Local officials agreed to close four schools that serve about 2,000 students as a precaution, said Sheriff O. Wilson Staples.
Police found three bodies inside a rural home Tuesday and four other victims lying outside. Another man found injured along a nearby roadway later died.
Geller said state, local and federal authorities rotated shifts to maintain a constant security presence in the area overnight, and expected "to put forth more aggressive efforts, both on the ground and in the air" during the day.
"Our focus is on locating this individual and apprehending him," she said during a morning news conference.
The drama began around noon Tuesday when a victim was spotted barely alive along the side of a narrow, undivided country road.
WHY SO MANY KILLERS? READ STORY...
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,583389,00.html?sPage=fnc/us/crime
Wednesday, January 20, 2010 / Associated Press
APPOMATTOX, Va. — Schools were shutdown in a rural Virginia county as police searched for a gunman Wednesday who they believe killed eight people at a nearby home and forced down a police helicopter after shooting its fuel tank.
State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said investigators used dogs and heat-sensing equipment to search overnight for Christopher Speight, 39, in a wooded area in Appomattox County, about 100 miles southwest of Richmond. Authorities believe he is armed with a high-powered rifle.
Local officials agreed to close four schools that serve about 2,000 students as a precaution, said Sheriff O. Wilson Staples.
Police found three bodies inside a rural home Tuesday and four other victims lying outside. Another man found injured along a nearby roadway later died.
Geller said state, local and federal authorities rotated shifts to maintain a constant security presence in the area overnight, and expected "to put forth more aggressive efforts, both on the ground and in the air" during the day.
"Our focus is on locating this individual and apprehending him," she said during a morning news conference.
The drama began around noon Tuesday when a victim was spotted barely alive along the side of a narrow, undivided country road.
WHY SO MANY KILLERS? READ STORY...
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,583389,00.html?sPage=fnc/us/crime