MARTHA "SUNNY" von BULOW: DEAD AFTER 28 YEARS IN COMA

WEALTH AND GRACE
Martha Crawford “Sunny” von Bulow died after 28 years in a coma.

Sunny von Bulow is pictured during her 1957 wedding to Prince Alfred von Auersperg.

The von Bulow family

In this August 1981 file photo, Martha "Sunny" von Bulow is seen in Providence, R.I. The heiress died Dec. 6 after almost three decades in a coma. (AP File Photo)

Claus von Bulow and companion Andrea Reynolds after von Bulow was found not guilty of attempting to murder Sunny von Bulow. (AP Images)

"Reversal of Fortune," 1990 film about Sonny Von Bulow, her life with Claus Von Bulow, her insulin-induced coma, the attempted-murder trial. This film, starring Glenn Close as "Sunny" von Bulow, and Jeremy Irons as Claus von Bulow, was based on a book by von Bulow's attorney, Alan Dershowitz.

Martha Crawford von Bulow, famed heiress dies at 76
‘Tragic ending’ to von Bulow saga
By Laura CrimaldiSunday, December 7, 2008

The notorious aristocrat at the center of the von Bulow “Trial of the Century” greeted the news of his ex-wife’s death with sadness, his famous lawyer said yesterday.

“It’s a tragic ending to a tragic story,” said Claus von Bulow’s former attorney, Harvard law professor Alan M. Dershowitz. “Claus was falsely accused of something that he didn’t do and I was privileged to represent him. This is not a day for celebration. There are not happy endings in these situations.”

Martha Crawford “Sunny” von Bulow died after 28 years in the coma her husband once was alleged to have caused with insulin injections. He was acquitted in 1985.

Dershowitz said he spoke to von Bulow after news broke about his ex-wife’s death at a Manhattan nursing home. He said von Bulow, now 82, is raising grandchildren, writing occasional theater and opera reviews, and living the life of a “retired old gentleman” in London.

Von Bulow and his only daughter with Sunny, Cosima Pavoncelli, 41, have kept in touch with Dershowitz since 1984, when the Rhode Island Supreme Court granted a new trial in the sensational attempted murder case.

(snip)

Her three children, Pavoncelli, Ala Isham, and Alexander von Auersperg issued a statement announcing Sunny’s death.

“We were blessed to have an extraordinarily loving and caring mother. She was especially devoted to her many friends and family members,” the children said.

“We are grateful to our mother’s private duty nurses and to the staffs of New York Columbia Presbyterian Hospital and Mary Manning Walsh Nursing Home, who cared for our mother while she was in a persistent vegetative state for the past 28 years,” the statement said.

READ MORE ABOUT THIS EXTRAORDINARY CASE...

http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/2008_12_07_%20Martha_Crawford_von_Bulow__%20famed_heiress_dies_at_76:_%E2%80%98Tragic_ending__to_von_Bulow_saga/srvc=home&position=also

OJ SIMPSON SENTENCE: 15 YEARS IN PRISON, NO MORE SMILING!

CNN NEWS PHOTO

AP / Oct. 1: / O.J. Simpson and his attorney Yale Galanter appear during Simpson's trial at the Clark County Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas.

Clark County District Court Judge Jackie Glass (AP)

OJ SIMPSON SENTENCED
Conspiracy to commit a crime
Conspiracy to kidnap
Two counts of first degree kidnapping
Burglary in possession of a deadly weapon
Two counts of armed robbery
Two counts of assault with a deadly weapon

O J Simpson talks to Judge before sentencing / YouTube.com



O.J. Simpson Sentenced to at Least 15 Years for Armed Robbery and Kidnapping
FoxNews.Com / Friday, December 05, 2008

O.J. Simpson was sentenced Friday to at least 15 years in prison for armed robbery and kidnapping in a failed attempt to recover sports memorabilia from two collectibles dealers.

There will be the possibility of parole after six years, Judge Jackie Glass said.

His co-defendant Clarence "C.J." Stewart received the same sentence.

Before the judge handed down his sentence, Simpson apologized to her and the Las Vegas court after learning he won't be able to be freed on bail if he appeals.

Simpson appeared at the hearing in a blue prison jumpsuit, shackles and handcuffs.

"I stand before you today sorry," an emotional Simpson told Glass, fighting back tears. "I am apologetic to the people of Nevada. ... When I came here, I came here for a wedding. I didn't come to reclaim property."

(snip)

Fred Goldman and his daughter, Kim Goldman, father and sister of murder victim Ron Goldman, the friend of Simpson's slain ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, were among the 15 members of the public to gain entry to the courtroom. Most of the 63 seats were taken by media, lawyers and family members of the defendants.

After the sentence was handed down, Fred Goldman told reporters that "this is a bittersweet moment" but spoke of the satisfaction of seeing Simpson — whom he called an "SOB" and a "monster" — in shackles.

"He'll be where he belongs, with others of his kind," Goldman said.

READ EVERYTHING...THERE WILL BE MORE NEWS...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,462565,00.html

CAREN RAMIREZ ABUSED OTHER CHILDREN: READ PROBATION REPORT

Caren Ramirez, the kidnapped boy's guardian, gets her booking photo in San Joaquin County. (AP Photo/ San Joaquin County Sheriff's Department)

Torture suspect had history of abusing Tracy boy, other children, court records say
By Steven Harmon and Mike Martinez Staff Writers
Posted: 12/03/2008 09:37:00 AM PST

SACRAMENTO — The guardian of the 17-year-old boy police say was tortured and abused for the past year in Tracy had previously been arrested on suspicion of beating him with martial arts sticks, a spatula, a broomstick and a clothes hanger in Sacramento County, court documents show.

A previously sealed probation report from Sacramento County Superior Court details alleged abuses committed by Caren Ramirez, 43, who was arrested Tuesday night in Berkeley in connection with the case.

Ramirez had been previously identified as the boy's aunt, but police said late Wednesday that Ramirez is not a blood relation but had been granted custody of the boy by his mother before her death.

Sheriff's deputies responded to two separate calls to Ramirez's Citrus Heights home in an eight-month period from late 2005 to May 2006, in which her 16-year-old stepson, identified in court records as Austin, and the boy known as her nephew, Kyle, reported being beaten by her.

Kyle, the boy discovered in Tracy, had been abused by his father and placed in the care of Ramirez by Children's Protective Services in Sacramento County, said Matt Robinson, a spokesman for the city of Tracy.

The boy was then abused by Ramirez — who was subsequently charged and sentenced in a plea deal — before being moved into a second foster home.

WHAT GAVE THIS WOMAN AN EVIL HEART?http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_11128173?source=most_viewed

READ CAREN RAMIREZ PROBATION REPORT
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_11129899

SARASOTA: SABINA MUSIL-BUEHLER MISSING FROM ANNA MARIA ISLAND

Anna Maria Island is the northern most island in the Florida's Sarasota area. It has a quaint village atmosphere that's both welcoming and relaxed. It is split into several areas with different names.

Tom Buehler and Sabine Musil-Buehler at Haley's Motel. Islander File Photo: Molly McCartney

Haley's Motel co-owner Sabina Musil-Buehler was a regular at this theatre.

Robert Corona, the man police say was found with Sabine Musil-Buehler's car.

Haley's Motel owner missing
by Lisa Neff. Islander Reporter / Date of Issue: November 12, 2008

Sabine Musil-Buehler, the co-owner of Haley’s Motel in Holmes Beach, was officially reported missing early Nov. 6.

(snip)

Her car was reportedly found early Nov. 6 behind the Gator Bar, which is on 14th Street in Bradenton. MCSO spokesperson Dave Bristow confirmed Monday, Nov. 10, that forensics tests revealed blood was found in several locations and on the seat belt of Musi-Buehler’s car.

(snip)

A report from the sheriff’s office stated that the patrol deputy noticed the vehicle with no taillights and attempted to conduct a traffic stop.

The driver pulled over, but walked away.

The deputy told him to stop, but the man continued to walk away, and eventually began to run. The deputy, with assistance, pursued and the driver was eventually found hiding under a parked truck on 11th Street West.

The man, Robert Corona, 38, was arrested for resisting arrest and driving on a license that had been suspended for failure to pay a fine.

Corona allegedly first told deputies that he had been partying with Musil-Buehler, according to a report in the Bradenton Herald.

(snip)

Buehler, who is separated from his wife, filed the missing person’s report on Nov. 6, saying he had not seen Musil-Buehler since Nov. 4.

His wife is widely known on the Island — an active member of the Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce, a member of a garden club, an advocate for property-tax relief, a participant in Holmes Beach Police Department’s missing children alert program, a volunteer for Turtle Watch, and, most recently, the host of one of the Island’s largest Halloween celebrations at the hotel.

LET'S BRING SABINA MUSIL-BUEHLER HOME. CAN YOU HELP? HAVE YOU SEEN HER?

Anyone with information on the case is asked to call MCSO at 941-747-3011 or to call Crime Stoppers at 866-634-TIPS.

http://www.islander.org/11-12-08/missing_buehler.php

TRACY, CA: TORTURED, CHAINED TEEN ESCAPES, BEGS FOR HELP

Lea Leonardo, assistant general manager at In-Shape Sport in Tracy, Calif., describes on Tuesday, December 2, 2008 how a young man wearing only boxer shorts and covered with dried blood, cuts, burns and bruises and wearing a chain around one ankle came into the facility on Monday, Dec. 1 and asked for help. Tracy police report that he apparently was being held against his will at a home adjacent to the fitness club. (Jim Stevens/Staff)

Chuck Ellis, district manager for In-Shape Sport in Tracy, Calif., describes on Tuesday, December 2, 2008, how a young man wearing only boxer shorts and covered with dried blood, cuts, burns and bruises and wearing a chain around one ankle came into the facility on Monday, December 1, 2008, and asked for help. He offered the boy refuge in his office until police arrived. Tracy police report that the youth apparently was being held aganist his will at a home adjacent to the fitness club. (Jim Stevens/Staff)

In-Shape Sports Club, Tracy, California (From Christine H.)

Tracy teen found with chain padlocked to foot says he escaped torture
Some reports say boy in critical condition
By Mike MartinezSan Joaquin Herald
Posted: 12/01/2008 09:28:16 PM PST

TRACY — Police have arrested a Tracy couple in connection with a case involving a teen boy who — wearing only a pair of baggy boxers and carrying a heavy chain padlocked to his ankle — stumbled into a local gym Monday, asking employees to hide him.

Kelly Lau-Schumacher, 30, and Michael Schumacher, 34, face charges of torture, kidnapping, false imprisonment, child endangerment and corporal injury to a child, according to police spokesman Matt Robinson. They are each being held on $1.185 million bail. Another woman, Caren Ramirez, is apparently the boy's aunt and is being sought by police for possibly having a role in the boy's kidnapping.

The teen, whose name hasn't been released, was reported missing from a Sacramento foster home in 2007. He was apparently picked up by the Tracy couple, witnesses said.

When he wandered into the In-Shape City Sports Club, 101 S. Tracy Blvd., around 3:30 p.m. Monday, he was wearing only flesh-colored boxers. He had visible cuts and burns on his back and was described as being emaciated and covered in soot, dried blood, feces and urine, police said. He was taken to Sutter Tracy Community Hospital and was expected to be transferred to Children's Hospital Oakland, authorities said. According to some news reports, he was in critical condition.

He immediately began begging Assistant Manager Lea Leonardo to hide him and said people were going to catch him. She sensed the urgency and immediately dialed 911 as the boy curled into a fetal position on the floor underneath the counter.

THANK GOD PEOPLE BELIEVED THIS YOUNG MAN, AND HELPED HIM...READ MORE

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_11116604?source=most_emailed

TRACY, CA: BOY, 17, CHAINED, TORTURED IN HOME OF KELLY LAU, MICHAEL SCHMACHER

Police arrested a husband-wife pair in the kidnapping and torture of a 17-year-old California boy. A third woman, Karen Ramirez, is also being sought in the case. (Courtesy San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office)

Police are seeking this woman, Caren Ramirez, who is apparently the boy's aunt and may have had a role in his kidnapping. She is described as a 43-year-old woman, about 5 feet tall, weighing 100 pounds. (Photo contributed by Tracy Police Department).

The home at 630 Tennis Lane from which police report that a youth escaped on Monday, Dec. 1 by climbing over the back fence and seeking refuge at In-Shape Sport in Tracy, Calif. Tracy police report that he apparently was being held against his will at the home adjacent to the fitness club. (Jim Stevens/Staff)

Police say a bruised, emaciated teen boy wandered to this gym after being held in a home in Tracy, California.

Couple Arrested in Chained Teen Case
By MICHELLE LOCKE and MARCUS WOHLSEN , AP / Associated Press

TRACY, Calif. (Dec. 2) - A Girl Scout leader and her husband were arrested after an emaciated, terrified and nearly naked 17-year-old showed up at a gym with a chain locked to his ankle, saying he had just fled his captors, authorities said Tuesday.

Police were also seeking the boy's aunt and had an outstanding felony warrant against her for an earlier alleged assault against the teen.

The boy, who authorities said ran away from a Sacramento foster home last year, came into the In-Shape Sports Club in Tracy on Monday wearing only boxer briefs and covered in what appeared to be soot, gym manager Chuck Ellis said. Tracy is about 70 miles south of Sacramento.
Ellis said the teen was scared someone was going to come after him and asked to be hidden.

"He said, 'Don't let them get me, don't let them get me,'" Ellis said. "He was totally terrified."

The boy said he had been held captive for nearly a year, said Ellis, adding that he looked as if he was only 10 to 12 years old.

Authorities said they believe the boy had been chained to a car seat but picked up a dropped key, unlocked himself and fled when the car stopped.

Police arrested Kelly Layne Lau, 30, and Michael Schumacher, 34, late Monday after questioning the couple. A subsequent search of their nearby home found further evidence implicating them, said Tracy police spokesman Matt Robinson, who would not describe what officers found.

WHAT IS THE REST OF THIS HORROR STORY? READ MORE...
http://news.aol.com/article/couple-arrested-in-chained-teen-case/264755

BRIANNA DENISON: JAMES BIELA, KILLER, KIDNAP, RAPIST, FOUND

James Biela
Police Arrest Suspect in Sex Assault Slaying of Reno Teen Brianna Denison
Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Police arrested a suspect in the kidnapping, rape and killing of Reno teenager Brianna Denison, ending an exhaustive 10-month-long manhunt for the college student's alleged murderer.

James Michael Biela, 27, of Sparks, Nev., was taken into custody about 9 p.m. Tuesday and booked at the Washoe County Jail on suspicion of kidnapping, murder and sexual assault, authorities said. He is being held without bail.

Denison, 19, was abducted while she was sleeping at a friend's house during winter break in January. Police said a secret witness and DNA were crucial to cracking the case.

Click here for photos.

At an afternoon news conference about the arrest, the girl's aunt Lauren Denison thanked police for getting the suspect "off the streets."

"Can you believe it?" Lauren Denison told the Reno Gazette-Journal earlier Wednesday. "The police said the DNA came back, and it's him. ... This is what we have been waiting for."

Reno investigators told reporters that a secret witness was key to capturing Biela. The witness' information "indicated that Biela's activities and behavior made him a likely suspect," police said.

IT'S NOT EASY TO CATCH A KILLER..BUT SCORE ONE FOR THE GOOD GUYS. CHOMP CAN'T BEGIN TO SAY WHAT I THINK OF THIS SONOFABITCH !!!

READ FOR YOURSELF...
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,457717,00.html

SEATTLE: BARRY SAUNDERS, SOUTHCENTER MALL KILLER CAUGHT

Holiday Inn, 8439 N.E. Columbia Blvd., Portland, Oregon

Portland police arrest suspect in Washington mall shooting
by Maxine Bernstein, The Oregonian
Wednesday November 26, 2008, 7:28 PM

Portland police responding to a routine call to check out suspicious activity at a Northeast Portland Holiday Inn on Wednesday stumbled upon a 21-year-old man wanted on a murder charge in a deadly shooting at Washington's Southcenter shopping mall Saturday.

Northeast Precinct officers arrested Barry L. Saunders Jr. after they were called at 11:33 a.m. to the Holiday Inn at 8439 N.E. Columbia Blvd. The call had come in as "unwanted people" involved in suspected drug activity, police said.

By 2:15 p.m., police identified Saunders among the "unwanted" near a rental car at the hotel, but realized he was very much wanted as the alleged gunman in Saturday's gang-related fatal shooting that occurred while thousands shopped at the largest mall in Washington.

(snip)

Within hours of the shooting, police said, Saunders was identified as the one who pulled the trigger. He was apparently coming to the aid of his teenage brother who had gotten into a fistfight with some rival gang members or associates who were taunting him with gang signals, according to police and Saunders' lawyer, David Gehrke, of Des Moines, Wash. The victims involved had ties to the Hoover Crips gang, a group that's been active in Portland.

SAUNDER'S FAMILY "HORRIFIED!" READ UPDATE...
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/11/portland_police_arrest_suspect.html

SEATTLE: SOUTHCENTER MALL -BARRY SAUNDERS, 21, IS THE KILLER

Barry Lee SaundersIdentified as the Southcenter Mall killer! He has not been found. Police say Saunders may be armed. The public is asked to call 911 if they see him or know of his whereabouts.

Last updated November 25, 2008 3:36 p.m. PT
Warrant issued in Southcenter shooting
By CASEY MCNERTHENYP-I REPORTER

Police have issued a warrant for Barry L. Saunders, the man suspected in a Saturday shooting spree at Westfield Southcenter mall that left one 16-year-old boy dead and another seriously injured.

Officers searching for Saunders, 21, say he is the sole suspect in the case. He may still be armed, and anyone with information is asked to call 911.

A warrant was issued Tuesday for the suspect in last weekend's shooting at Westfield Southcenter mall that killed one teen and wounded another one.

Saunders has lived in Kent and Tukwila, police spokesman Mike Murphy said. He has been charged with second-degree murder and first-degree assault.

Tukwila police declined to discuss additional details in the case, citing the continuing investigation.

About 3:45 p.m. Saturday, police said shots were fired on the mall's first floor just east of the central portion beneath the second-floor food court.

(snip)

Police suspect that at least five victims in the weekend's shootings -- the two at Southcenter, one at a First Hill nightclub and two on Rainier Avenue South -- had ties to the 74 Hoovers, based in South Seattle.

WHAT DO YOU DO WITH BOYS WHO ACT STUPID...

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/389404_shooting26.html

SEATTLE: SOUTHCENTER MALL -2 SHOT (1 DIED) IN TEEN SHOOTOUT

KATU.COM - KOMO TV / SEATTLE
A shooting victim is loaded into an aid car at Southcenter Mall shortly after the shootings there.

A crowd standing in a parking garage watches police clear the mall. (November 22, 2008) Mike Kane/Seattle Post-Intelligencer )

A King County Sheriff's officer stands guard as as police clear the mall. (November 22, 2008) Mike Kane/Seattle Post-Intelligencer )

HARBORVIEW MEDICAL CENTER, SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
2 shot at Southcenter mall, 1 dead; suspect at large
One teenager is dead and another wounded following a shooting this afternoon at Westfield Southcenter mall in Tukwila.

November 22, 2008 / By Seattle Times staff

Seattle Times staff reporters Erik Lacitis, Nick Perry, Eric Pryne and Tan Vinh contributed to this story.

One teenager is dead and another wounded following a shooting this afternoon at Westfield Southcenter mall in Tukwila.

Police are searching for a suspect inside the mall, which has been locked down for hours. Many shoppers and store employees fled the mall after shots were reported just before 3:45 p.m.

The two victims were transported to Harborview Medical Center. A Harborview spokeswoman confirmed the identity of the dead teen as Daiquin L. Jones, 16. A 15-year-old boy, Jermaine McGowen, remains in serious condition, but his injuries are described as non-life-threatening.

The incident occurred near the south main entrance of the mall, in a corridor near two restaurants. Police said they have talked to one eyewitness and are reviewing surveillance tapes.

The suspect is described as a black male in his late teens or early 20s, of average build, about 5 feet 6 inches tall and 145 pounds. He was believed to be wearing a black jumpsuit with red piping.

(snip)

The mall parking lot was a mess, witnesses said, as police evacuated people there from inside.

"Everyone's standing around outside. There's no movement. Cars are taking up every space and traffic's not moving," said a worker at the Olive Garden restaurant, located in the mall parking lot, shortly after the shooting.

ANOTHER KILLER NEEDS TO BE CAUGHT...
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008424364_webmallshooting.html

ST. JOHNS, ARIZONA: VINCENT ROMERO'S SON TALKS TO POLICE

MyFOXPhoenix.com
Vincent Romero

AP / Nov. 10, 2008: A man arrives at the funeral of Vincent Romero at the St. John the Baptist church in St. Johns, Ariz.

AP / Nov. 8, 2008: The house where Vincent Romero, 29, and Timothy Romans, 39, of San Carlos, Ariz., were found fatally shot.

Police say an 8-year-old boy confessed to murder. Legal analysts say the questioning crossed the line.

Experts: Interrogation of boy, 8, 'out of bounds'

By Ann O'Neill / CNN

(CNN) -- The third-grader's legs dangle at times from an overstuffed chair as he answers the questions of two female police officers. His manner and voice are casual, even helpful, but his words are shocking.

And so, legal analysts say, were the methods police used to obtain them.

By the time the boy was finished talking, say police in St. Johns, Arizona, he'd confessed to a premeditated double murder.

The 8-year-old is charged in juvenile court with killing his father, Vincent Romero, 29, along with Tim Romans, 39, a man who rented a room in Romero's home. Police have said the boy confessed to shooting the men. He has not entered a plea.

He will be allowed to leave a juvenile jail for 48 hours to spend Thanksgiving with his mother, a judge ruled Wednesday.

The furlough will start at noon November 26 and end at noon on November 28, Apache County court administrator Betty Smith told CNN.

Legal analysts who spoke with CNN were united in their opinion that the police questioning was improper and that any incriminating statements the boy made shouldn't stand up in court.

A review of the tapes shows that the boy's demeanor was more suitable for a session of show-and-tell than for a soul-baring confession as he describes the carnage he saw inside his home. He does not appear to be depressed, scared or sorrowful.

Watch police interrogate the boy »

The body of his father's roommate was sprawled downstairs, he says. He ran through the house, shouting, "Daaaad! Dad!" His father was lying dead upstairs.

HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN? READ MORE...

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/11/19/boy.confession.tactics/index.html

FLORIDA: SEARCH FOR CAYLEE - "Please don't let this be my Caylee."

Crowd Gathers To Begin Search For Caylee Anthony
Saturday, November 8, 2008 – updated: 9:36 am EST November 8, 2008

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- People began gathering in the cool, predawn hours to take part in what organizers hoped would be a massive search for little Caylee Anthony's body.

Officials of the Texas-based search group EquuSearch estimated earlier in the week they would draw as many as 5,000 volunteers to comb through woods and swampland to look for skeletal remains of the child.

(snip)

The command post is near the corner of Judge Road and Shadowridge Drive (see map), almost directly north of Orlando International Airport. The search is set to begin at 8:00am Saturday and they are expecting as many as 5,000 people. If you want to be one of them, you can show up Saturday morning at the command post.

(snip)

AUDIO RELEASED OF GEORGE ANTHONY INTERVIEW

Late Friday afternoon, Eyewitness News obtained new audio tapes of interviews with George Anthony. They indicate he feared the worst when Caylee disappeared.

"My, my heart is killing me right now to say it's going into my granddaughter is not, no longer alive," he said (listen to full interview).

WHAT DID EQUU-SEARCH FIND?

http://www.wftv.com/news/17937636/detail.html

LAS VEGAS: OJ SIMPSON DENIED NEW TRIAL, BAIL DENIED

Questioned over raid on hotel room: OJ Simpson (file photo). (Getty Images)

O.J. Simpson, left, hugs his friend Thomas Scotto, with his sister Carmelita Durio, right, after he was found guilty on all counts following his trial at the Clark County Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas on Friday, Oct. 3, 2008. The verdict comes 13 years to the day after Simpson was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. (Photo/Steve Marcus, Pool)

O.J. Simpson Getty Images

OJ Simpson loses bid for new trial in Las Vegas
By KEN RITTER – 1 day ago

AP Associated Press

LAS VEGAS (AP) — O.J. Simpson was denied a new trial Friday by the Nevada judge who presided over his conviction in the gunpoint robbery of two sports memorabilia dealers in a Las Vegas hotel room.

Clark County District Judge Jackie Glass said challenges raised by lawyers for Simpson and co-defendant Clarence "C.J." Stewart did not rise to the level of granting another trial.

"All of the issues have been preserved for the (Nevada) Supreme Court," Glass said, acknowledging her rulings could be appealed to the state's only appellate court.

Simpson and Stewart, who were shackled and in jail garb, did not speak during the 20-minute hearing, at which the judge also denied requests to release them on bail pending sentencing Dec. 5.

"They face life sentences, mandatory prison," Glass said. "Your motions are being denied."

Simpson, 61, and Stewart, 54, were convicted Oct. 3 of charges including kidnapping, armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon in the hotel room confrontation on Sept. 13, 2007. Simpson has argued he was trying to recover stolen mementos.

Each faces five years to life in prison on each of their two kidnapping convictions, and a mandatory sentence of at least two years or up to 30 years on each of the two armed robbery convictions.

SOME TRIALS ARE NEVER OVER...KEEP ON READING

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iUNgbOr-2bnpFUX0MiII6je2CkRAD94ABF6G0

BOISE, ID: JOSEPH DUNCAN -DEATH AND 6 LIFE SENTENCES

JOSEPH EDWARD DUNCAN III

JOSEPH DUNCAN WITH KIDNAPPED SHASTA GROENE

Joseph Duncan is escorted to jury selection for his trial at the Boise Centre on the Grove convention center on Monday. Duncan pleaded guilty in December to 10 federal charges, three of which could bring the death penalty.Associated Press (Associated Press)

Convicted Child-Killer Joseph Duncan Gets 6 Life Sentences
FOXNEWS.COM Tuesday, November 04, 2008

BOISE, Idaho — Confessed child-killer Joseph Edward Duncan III received his final sentences Monday for the torture and slayings of an Idaho family with a judge telling him that his cruel rampage "exceeds the bounds of human understanding."

Six life prison terms in federal and state court were added to the death sentences a federal jury handed Duncan in August. He already is serving three life sentences handed to him by a state judge in 2006 on kidnapping counts.

In May 2005, Duncan kidnapped 9-year-old Dylan Groene, and his sister Shasta, then 8, from their Coeur d'Alene home and held them for weeks in western Montana. He tortured and sexually abused both children, eventually killing Dylan but Shasta was rescued after seven weeks.

Duncan had targeted the children, watching their home and killing their 13-year-old brother, Slade Groene, their mother, Brenda Groene, and her fiance, Mark McKenzie, in order to take the young siblings.

In state court Monday, Duncan was sentenced to three life terms for those murders, a penalty agreed upon mainly to spare Shasta the trauma of testifying. Shortly after that hearing, U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge sentenced Duncan to three federal life terms, one for kidnapping Shasta, and one each for sexually abusing Shasta and her brother.

READ MORE ABOUT THIS EVIL MAN...
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,446228,00.html?sPage=fnc/us/crime

JUDGE FREES PSYCHOTIC THOMAS GERGEN, KILLED WIFE KARI OSTERHAUG

KARIN INGRID OSTERHAUG 1971 - 2003
Photos from fall 2006 at Kari's Bog on Redmond Ridge Trail.

Dan DeLong / P-I
John Osterhaug, father of victim Kari Osterhaug, listens Friday to a hearing for Thomas Gergen, who pleaded to insanity five years ago.

Angry judge forced to free man who killed wife in 2003
A man who killed his wife five years ago in a psychotic rage must be set free, a judge ordered Friday, because prosecutors presented no proof he is a danger to the community.

By Natalie Singer
Seattle Times staff reporter

Thomas Gergen will live in Bellevue.
Related
Archive Man charged in killings of his wife, unborn child

A man who killed his wife five years ago in a psychotic rage must be set free, a judge ordered Friday, because prosecutors presented no proof he is a danger to the community.

Superior Court Judge Michael Hayden told Thomas Gergen, 36, he would be released from Western State Hospital to live with his mother in Bellevue in the next 45 days, as soon as a treatment program can be set up.

During Gergen's court hearing on Friday, the judge chastised prosecutors, saying their failure to present any substantial evidence made it virtually impossible for him keep Gergen in custody.

"It is the burden of the prosecutor to provide substantial evidence that Mr. Gergen presents a substantial risk to the community. What evidence have you given me? ... You presented no proof," Hayden scolded.

Gergen has been held at the state mental hospital since he was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the 2003 shooting death of his wife, Kari Osterhaug. The hearing Friday was to decide whether he is stable enough to be released into the community. It was one of several such hearings for Gergen since he was committed.

(snip)

According to testimony and court documents, Gergen's mental illness first appeared while he was in college, and it mushroomed in the months after Osterhaug became pregnant with their first child in 2002. He had become convinced that his father-in-law was trying to poison him, and that the baby wasn't his. He heard voices and believed that his wife asked him to kill her, he later told police and doctors.

On Jan. 4, 2003, Osterhaug, a biologist, and Gergen's mother took Gergen to the hospital for a psychological evaluation. He was released about 2 a.m. the next day. Within five hours, he shot his wife five times in their Shoreline home and shot himself in the face in a suicide attempt, according to court documents.

SHOULD THOMAS GERGEN BE RELEASED? YOU DECIDE...

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008176845_gergen13m.html