Florida woman stuffed roommates’ body in trash to collect his benefits
A Florida woman was arrested Wednesday for hiding her roommate’s body in a trash can so she could collect his Social Security benefits, authorities said.
Michelle Haney, 48, told deputies she found her roommate, Jon Leonard, dead in their Bradenton mobile home in July, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
But instead of calling the sheriff’s office, Haney stuffed Leonard’s body in a closet for three weeks.
When that short-sighted plan became unbearable, she put the rotting corpse in a trash bin and left it with a neighbor, authorities said.
Haney allegedly told the neighbor she’d come back for the bin later.
But after two months, Haney still hadn’t shown up.
The neighbor decided to open the trash bin on Tuesday, and discovered Leonard’s still-decomposing body, authorities said.
Haney later admitted to deputies she had hidden Leonard’s body so she could collect his Social Security checks.
Authorities are investigating how Leonard died.
Haney has been charged with abuse of a human body, and additional charges are pending.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/12/13/florida-woman-stuffed-roommates-body-in-trash-to-collect-his-benefits/
Photo Credit: Manatee County Sheriff’s Office
Proud Boys tear down BLM sign outside black church in DC
A group of Proud Boys ripped a Black Lives Matter sign off the front of a black Washington, DC, church and stomped on it during pro-Trump demonstrations in the nation’s capital Saturday night, video shows.
The footage, posted on Twitter by freelance reporter Brandan Gutenschwager, shows at least a half-dozen members of the right-wing radical group tearing down the sign outside the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church.
The men can be seen punching and stomping on the sign right outside the front door of the church, while other demonstrators celebrate by chanting, “Our streets!”
One Twitter commenter called the incident “stupid and pointless.”
Another wrote, “They can’t possibly think this is a good look, right?”
But other people voiced support for the vandalism, with one Twitter user writing, “Tear it down boys! F–k yea!”
The church did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday.
Thousands of supporters of President Trump converged on DC on Saturday to back the president’s claims of widespread voter fraud in last month’s election, which he lost.
The demonstrators, including a large number of members of the Proud Boys, marched through the capital, clashing with counter-protesters including members of the left-wing group Antifa in incidents that turned increasingly violent as night fell
Police said four people were stabbed in the melees.
One disturbing video shows a knife fight between the two sides.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/12/13/video-shows-proud-boys-tearing-down-blm-sign-outside-black-church-in-dc/
Photo Credit: nypost.com
Off-duty Chicago police officer shoots, kills son during domestic-related incident
Chicago (WBBM) — An off-duty Chicago police officer shot and killed his son during a domestic dispute early Wednesday in the Garfield Ridge neighborhood, sources said.
Sources said the off-duty officer was involved in a physical altercation with his son around 1:45 a.m. at a home in the 5600 block of South Nottingham Avenue when he fired his weapon, killing his 23-year-old son.
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office identified the officer’s son as Rafael Flores. He died at the scene.
Police said Area One detectives are investigating and the incident is domestic-related.
As CBS 2’s Suzanne Le Mignot reported, an ambulance was seen parked outside the house as officers entered. Crime scene tape was also seen in front of the house. Officers were at the scene for more than five hours Wednesday morning.
“We were woken up by the emergency vehicles approaching,” said Jeff Jestadt, who lives two houses down from where the shooting happened.
Jestadt said, while he didn’t hear any gunshots overnight, the large police presence kept him awake.
He has known Flores and his family for about 13 years.
“I consider them to be great neighbors. They’re the kind of people that you know, has your back,” he said. “They were very, very, very nice people. We have the same kind of a dog and that’s kind of our connection between the two of us, two families. Just very nice people overall.”
Jefstadt’s son played baseball with Flores in elementary school.
Of Flores, Jestadt said: “He was just a quiet kid. We’d see him, just over this past summer. He’d go out for walks, by himself. Sometimes he’d take his dog with him. We’d see him out in the alley, sometimes playing basketball or whatever, kind of hanging out. We’d wave. He’d wave back.”
A source said Flores was recently hired as an assistant football coach at St. Rita of Cascia High School. He also graduated from the school in 2015.
The St. Rita Mustangs mourned Flores’ death in a tweet on Wednesday.
Jefstadt said the officer lives at the Nottingham Avenue home with his wife and wasn’t sure if their son still lived with them.
Sources said the off-duty officer was taken to a hospital to be treated for a head injury after the incident.
“I feel horrible for the family,” Jefstadt said.
He added that his heart “absolutely, 100 percent” goes out to the family.
“And I don’t know if they’d ever see this, but we’re willing to do anything we can to help them,” Jefstadt said.
The officer has been on the force for 19 years. The Civilian Office of Police Accountability and the Chicago Police Internal Affairs Division are investigating the shooting.
via: https://www.kmov.com/news/off-duty-chicago-police-officer-shoots-kills-son-during-domestic-related-incident/article_ee4c5cfb-9ebf-54e9-badd-f9a100e5fd09.html
Photo Credit: kmov.com
Connecticut man charged with fatally shooting neighbor’s dog – mistook it for a coyote
A Connecticut hunter is facing charges for gunning down his neighbor’s dog — which he said he mistook for a coyote, police said.
Peter Martinelli, 53, told Vernon police he was hunting in a tree stand on his 12-acre property in early November when he spotted a deer about 50 yards away but didn’t fire his rifle, according to an arrest warrant obtained by the Hartford Courant.
Martinelli then saw what he believed to be a coyote chasing the buck — and squeezed the trigger on his .30-06 rifle, later telling investigators he would have “bet his life it was a coyote,” police said.
Some 10 minutes later, Martinelli said, he found the lifeless animal, but he was dismayed by the kill upon realizing he had actually shot his neighbor’s 8-year-old German shepherd named Karo, police said.
“He stated he was completely shocked and unnerved to see that it was a dog,” the warrant said.
Martinelli, who has been charged with illegal discharge of a firearm in the incident, had an active hunting license and legally owned the rifle, police said.
Karo belonged to Martinelli’s neighbors, Belleann Maffessoli and her husband, she previously told the Courant.
The dog was outside on Nov. 3 when Maffessoli heard a gunshot, prompting her to search for Karo nearby and on the 40 acres the couple owns, she said.
A day later, Maffessoli went to Martinelli’s house, where he didn’t tell her about the shooting — subsequently telling investigators he “didn’t really know how to handle” the matter, the warrant states.
Maffessoli found Karo dead behind Martinelli’s house two days after the shooting, prompting her husband to confront him, police said.
Martinelli admitted shooting Karo, and that’s why Maffessoli’s husband threatened him, the warrant states.
“You’re a dead man walking,” Martinelli told detectives of the alleged threat while saying he did not want to press charges, police said.
Messages seeking comment from Martinelli and Vernon police were not immediately returned early Thursday.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/12/10/connecticut-man-charged-with-fatally-shooting-neighbors-dog/
Photo Credit: Belleann Maffessoli
Workers sue Illinois dental practice over hidden cameras found in bathroom
An Illinois dental practice has been sued by 11 employees after an hygienist allegedly hid two cameras in the work bathroom, new court papers show.
One camera was discovered Oct. 22 in a unisex employees’ bathroom of the national dental chain Aspen Dental in Crestwood, and it was turned over to the police department, according to the lawsuits filed in Cook County Circuit Court on Thursday.
That same day, dental hygienist Armani Alexander, 25, “admitted to placing the camera” in the bathroom and was arrested, the court papers say.
The office assured the workers that they swept the premises and didn’t find any more cameras.
Yet Oct. 26, a second camera was discovered in the same bathroom, the court documents allege.
Lawyers for the workers — who include dentists, dental hygienists, dental assistants and a marketer — say the cameras were first placed in the bathroom sometime in September.
Aspen admitted that a background check for Alexander — who had only been with the company for two months — “was flagged for criminal activity,” the court papers say.
Dentist Trent Jones, who along with dental assistant Alyssa Raine quit over the cameras, said the corporate office told him they knew Alexander had a criminal record.
“In essence, Aspen Dental rolled out the proverbial red carpet for this documented offender so that he could carry out his perverse actions against a predominantly female staff,” Jones said in a prepared statement.
Raine said she was horrified to discover the violation of her privacy.
“I am a very private person, and when I learned on Oct. 22 that a camera was found in the employee’s bathroom, I was shocked,” Raine said in a statement. “I was sick to my stomach. Many of us at the clinic were crying.
“I still cry about the way my privacy was taken from me,” Raine’s statement continued.
Raine said that when the second camera was discovered despite Aspen’s assurances that there were no others, “I knew this was the absolute worst place to work.
“I still am unable to use any public bathroom,” Raine said.
“These individuals relied on Aspen Dental to provide a safe and healthy working environment which they failed to do with their negligent hiring of a dental hygienist with a criminal background,”
Plaintiff lawyer Joseph Rourke said in a statement, “Aspen Dental, and its owners and managers, could have avoided this perverse invasion of privacy that resulted in unthinkable mental and emotional distress if they had followed up on the background check they conducted before deciding to hire this despicable individual.”
The workers — who are each suing for at least $50,000 — have brought claims of negligent hiring and supervision against the practice.
Alexander did not immediately return a request for comment.
A woman who answered at Aspen Dental corporate declined to take a message.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/12/11/workers-sue-dental-practice-over-hidden-cameras-found-in-bathroom/
Photo Credit: Clifford Law Offices
Horror movie fan who decapitated mom found not guilty
An Australian horror movie fan who hacked her mother’s head off after stabbing her more than 100 times in a fit of rage was found not guilty of her murder Thursday.
A jury in the Supreme Court of New South Wales instead found 27-year-old Jessica Camilleri guilty of manslaughter in the grisly slaying of her mother, Rita Camilleri, in their western Sydney home in July 2019, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Camilleri’s defense attorneys argued her multiple mental health conditions, which include autism spectrum disorder and dyslexia, made her lose control, including when she carved her mother’s eyeballs out and severed her tongue and nose.
The jury heard gruesome details of Rita Camilleri’s murder during the seven-day trial, including how Jessica Camilleri left her mother’s bloody severed head on the doorstep of a neighbor’s home.
They also learned Camilleri was obsessed with the horror films “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and “Jeepers Creepers.”
Kristy Torrisi, Camilleri’s sister, testified Camilleri would pause and rewind scenes in horror movies where dismemberment was shown, according to the Herald.
Forensic psychiatrist David Greenberg also testified Camilleri was aware she was killing her mother but that her mental health conditions “substantially impaired” her from controlling herself after going into a fit of rage when Rita Camilleri tried to get her daughter professional help.
Camilleri initially told police she was defending herself from her mother, but then told Greenberg she got the idea of decapitating her from watching movies.
“I remember stabbing my mum. I wouldn’t stop,” Camilleri told the forensic psychiatrist. “I injured myself. I was getting her everywhere.”
Camilleri’s sentencing is scheduled for February.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/12/10/horror-movie-fan-who-decapitated-mom-found-not-guilty/
Photo Credit: facebook
Ohio man fatally shoots son while deer hunting
An Ohio man shot and killed his son when he mistook him for a deer on a hunting trip, officials said.
Bradley Smith, 63, shot his 28-year-old son, Andrew Smith, while with a group of friends last week in a heavily wooded area just outside the city of Delaware, the Columbus Dispatch reported.
“It’s just the worst kind of tragedy,” said Tracy Whited, a spokeswoman for the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office. “He thought he was shooting at a deer. It was his son.”
The shooting occurred just before dusk around 5:45 p.m. Dec. 2, Whited said.
Emergency crews responded to the shooting but the younger Smith was pronounced dead at the scene.
He had not been wearing any orange shooting gear, which is legally required when hunting during deer season 30 minutes before sunset, the newspaper reported.
His father will not face any charges in his death, authorities said.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/12/10/ohio-man-fatally-shoots-son-while-deer-hunting/
Photo Credit: nypost.com
Dad who died from cancer left son $10 to buy first beer on 21st birthday
A Massachusetts man learned on his 21st birthday that his late father left him a $10 bill to buy his first legal beer — so he celebrated with a heartfelt toast to his old man.
“Almost 6 years ago before my dad passed he gave my sister this 10$ bill to give to me on my 21st birthday so he could buy me my first beer, cheers pops havin this one for you!” Matt Goodman tweeted Sunday, along with a photo of himself sipping suds from a frosty mug.
Goldman, whose father died of cancer in 2014, had no clue his dad had instructed his sister Casey and his mom to keep the beer money a secret until the young man’s milestone birthday.
So the son was flooded with emotion when Casey handed him an envelope with the dough inside last week.
“She kind of explained the backstory and everything, and then it turned into a pretty emotional moment, and [I] started crying,” Goldman told CBS Boston.
On birthdays and other big life events, Goldman has struggled with the empty spot where his dad once was, Casey told the station.
“Him and my dad were so close, and he’s had such a hard time anytime that a monumental moment comes up in his life that my dad’s not there,” she said of her sibling.
It was just like their father to have the forethought to know his boy would miss drinking with him on his 21st birthday, she said.
Matt Goldman said he and his pop had a strong bond, often going fishing, riding quads and playing games in their backyard before he got sick.
“Me and him were just like best friends,” he told the station. “Anytime we would hang out, it was just like having fun.”
The son’s now-viral post struck a chord on Twitter, prompting users to share stories about losing loved ones and family members.
“My dad passed when I was 13,” one observer wrote. “What I’d give to simply have a beer [with him].”
via: https://nypost.com/2020/12/11/dead-dad-left-son-10-to-buy-first-beer-on-21st-birthday/
Photo Credit: @MattG12699; Instagram
12-year-old boy takes parents’ car and goes on a 5-hour, multi-state joyride with 7 year old cousin – outruns state trooper
(Meredith) — A social media challenge may have inspired a 12-year-old boy to take his 7-year-old cousin on a 100-mile joyride.
Police spent hours on Monday searching for the kids, who traveled from New York to the New Jersey-Delaware border in a Range Rover.
Someone reported the children missing around 9 a.m. in Queens.
Investigators said surveillance video showed the 12-year-old boy took the keys to a white Range Rover before he and his 7-year-old cousin drove off.
Police used an electronic toll collection system and license plate readers to track the vehicle on the Verrazano Bridge, which connects Brooklyn and Staten Island, around 11 a.m.
New Jersey State Troopers later spotted the SUV and flashed sirens to get it to stop — but the boys sped off.
Authorities eased off the pursuit for the safety of the children. At 2:15 p.m., police said the 12-year-old used his dad’s credit card to buy cookies at a rest stop.
The credit card was flagged, and the kids were apprehended.
It turns out the 100-mile joyride may have been inspired by a social media challenge — taking a car and driving it until it runs out of gas.
Police are withholding the children’s names because they are minors.
The two cousins were taken to an area hospital for a check-up, then to the local police precinct for questioning before being reunited with their family.
via: https://www.kmov.com/news/12-year-old-boy-takes-parents-car-and-goes-on-a-5-hour-multi-state/article_aafa3893-1783-58df-b9ff-c69a8db6fede.html
Photo Credit: kmov.com
Drugs recalled after “mix-up” packages depression medication and erectile dysfunction drug together
(CNN) — Parmaceutical distributor AvKare is voluntarily recalling 100mg sildenafil tablets and 100mg trazodone tablets due to a “product mix-up,” the company announced Wednesday. The tablets were “inadvertently packaged together” when they were bottled by a third-party vendor.
Sildenafil is the active ingredient in Viagra, which is used for the treatment of erectile dysfunction. Trazodone is used to treat major depressive disorder.
Unintentional consumption of sildenafil can pose serious health risks for those with underlying health issues, such as lowering blood pressure to dangerous levels for those taking prescriptions containing nitrates.
Unintentional intake of trazodone can results in sedation, dizziness, constipation and blurred vision. So far, AvKare said, it has not received any reports of adverse events related to this recall.
The lots that are being recalled are sildenafil 100 mg tablet Lot 36884 with an expiration date of 03/2022 and trazodone hydrochloride 100 mg tablet lot 36783 with an expiration date of 06/2022.
Consumers with questions about the recall can contact AvKARE at 1-855-361-3993 Monday- Friday (8am — 4pm CST).
via: https://www.kmov.com/news/drugs-recalled-after-mix-up-packages-depression-medication-and-erectile-dysfunction-drug-together/article_7593f3be-2592-5125-a485-7f11dd8003a0.html
Photo Credit: FDA