Saturday, December 29, 2012

Possum Drop "Dropped" in North Carolina


Brasstown having possum drop, without live possum

Dec 27 2012 

BRASSTOWN, N.C. (AP) — A New Year's Eve possum drop that attracts thousands of people to a tiny western North Carolina town will go on this year, with one big change: It won't involve a live possum.
In a dignified display for the ethical treatment of animals, the tiny town of Brasstown reported that it would not use a live possum for the event but would substitute some other, as yet undecided, object.
Of course it helped that the town was under court order not to use a hapless possum to lure tourists to the town.
The Asheville Citizen-Times reports (http://avlne.ws/W3BJnk) Thursday that Brasstown will have the event Dec. 31 but with a different guest of honor.
During past drops, the possum was suspended in a see-through box covered with tinsel and lowered to the ground at midnight.
Last month, a judge ruled a state agency lacked authority to issue a permit for the drop. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals had sued, calling the event illegal and cruel.
Clay Logan has been doing the drop for years. He says he's considering using a stuffed animal or maybe road kill this year.  Some animal lovers urged that Logan drop himself instead.

Florida, Again - Buzzards Eat Tourists' Cars


Vultures pick at visitors' cars in Fla. Everglades

 Dec 29 2012 

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) — Visitors to parts of Everglades National Park are getting tarps and bungee cords to make their vehicles less delectable to vultures.
Migrating vultures have developed a habit of ripping off windshield wipers, sunroof seals, and other rubber and vinyl vehicle parts. Visitors to the park's Homestead and Flamingo entrances are loaned "anti-vulture kits" to protect their vehicles.

Park wildlife biologist Skip Snow tells The Miami Herald (http://hrld.us/WQkfgB) that the vultures are migrating as normal. It's just not clear why the birds are picking at parked cars and trucks. Park employees have tried to scare away the vultures, but nothing has worked.
Park Superintendent Dan Kimball says complaints about the vultures have declined since employees began distributing the tarps and bungee cords last year.

Thursday, December 27, 2012

New Citizen Elderly/Homeless Policy Initiated in California


LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles police have arrested a man for allegedly setting a 67-year-old woman on fire as she was sleeping on a bus bench.  The burned bench is depicted below.
Authorities say the man, who is in his 20s, was arrested early Thursday. His name was not immediately released.
Police say the attack occurred shortly after 1 a.m. outside a drug store. A witness said he saw a man come out of the store and pour something on the woman before striking a match and setting her ablaze.
The woman, who may be homeless, was taken to a hospital and listed in critical condition.
Last week, a 55-year-old man was set on fire as he slept outside a doughnut shop in southern Los Angeles County. No one has been arrested.

King or Queen of Weird

Florida continued to hold it's place as the unofficial capital of Weird in 2012

Manatee riding? 911 phone sex? That's weird Fla.

Published - Dec 27 2012 05:39AM CST
BRENDAN FARRINGTON, Associated Press
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — In 2012, Florida was a state where a lifeguard got fired for saving a life, a woman got arrested for riding a manatee and a man repeatedly used 911 as a phone sex service.
Think that's weird? It gets worse.
In one of the state's most horrifying stories of the year, a man attacked a homeless man in Miami, chewing off most of his face before police fatally shot him. And it wasn't the only story of its kind. In Manatee County, deputies used multiple Tasers to subdue a naked man who bit off part of another man's arm.
Later in the year a man won a roach-eating contest outside a pet store and then dropped dead in front of the store when body parts he swallowed blocked his airway.

These are only a few examples of bizarre occurrences in the Sunshine State.  The blog could be filled with nothing but weird stories from Florida but we are equal opportunity weirdos and try to recognize the rest of the world, too.

BizarreStuff Editors

How to end Xmas shopping with a big splash!

2321296240

Dec. 26, 2012

A shopping mall in Shanghai, China, containing live sharks and 33 tons of water, exploded, spewing shards of glass, water and marine creatures on unsuspecting shoppers and mall visitors.  15 were injured by broken glass while a small boy watching the tank, is washed away by a wall of water. (See videolink above)

Sunday, December 23, 2012


BERLIN (Reuters) - A 65-year-old man thought to be sleeping while sitting upright on a Berlin underground train as it cross-crossed the German capital was actually dead, police said on Sunday.
"It's tragic," a Berlin police spokeswoman said. "We don't know how long he was sitting dead on the train nor do we know the exact cause of death yet. There are no indications of foul play. He seems to have died of natural causes."

 Not the real man.

The man was found in the U-8 underground train line that runs all night at the Weinmeisterstrasse station at 5:45 a.m. when a rail worker tried wake the man up by gently shaking him. Medics were called in but could only pronounce the man dead.
A preliminary investigation showed no indications of the man being murdered. A more detailed autopsy is planned for Monday.

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Off With Her Toes, Cried the Emperor



The things some women will do to fit into a beautiful pair of high-heel shoes. Apparently, a growing number of women are having their toes shortened or even completely removed, in order to make wearing stilettos a less-painful experience.

According to the American Podiatric Medical Association, eighty-seven percent of women have had foot problems from wearing uncomfortable or ill-fitting shoes, like high-heels. But while some give-up on the problematic footwear, others love wearing them so much they will appeal to surgical procedures such as shortening toes, receiving foot injections and even completely cutting off pinky toes in order to make walking in them bearable.

Centuries ago, upper class women in China had their feet tightly bound at birth, to keep them from developing properly.  As a result their feet were deformed, they were crippled and many were unable to walk.  This was a much sought after social status symbol.

 “Unless you’ve been there, and you can’t find shoes, and you’re in pain, don’t judge,” Susan Deming, a patient who recently had one of her toes shortened, told Fox News. “I was having calluses, and just, all sorts of problems with my left foot.  And there finally was a solution.  There’s never been a solution before.” Some of Susan’s toes were longer than the others, making her left foot an entire size longer than her right foot, so she cut off about a centimeter off her second toe. “I’ve never felt this good about something I’ve done,” she said.  “If it’s vain, it’s vain.”

All I Want For Christmas Is A Sock of Poop






The skyline of Chicago. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Talk about a crappy train ride.
A woman was attacked with a sock filled with feces on Chicago transit last week.
The 21-year-old told the Pioneer Press the man boarded the train at the same time she did, and attacked her at the next stop.
"He had a sock full of his poop on me," she told the paper. "It was everywhere -- on my face, my hair, my clothes."
Her attacker got off the train and ran, she said. Police searched for him nearby but couldn't locate him.
The Chicago Transit Authority has given cops images of a "person of interest" from its high-definition security cameras.

The woman said it would've been less degrading if she'd just been hit.
"The worst part is nobody had anything to wipe my face with," she said in the report. She found some newspapers before paramedics arrived with towels and water.
The woman said her attacker didn't utter a word and she has no clue why she was picked.
Not the actual sock used.
         

Thursday, December 20, 2012

WHICH IS WORSE, GROPIN' OR SMOKIN'?


Super Mario man arrested in Times Square groping

 Dec 20 2012 06:12AM CST

Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Police say a man dressed as a Super Mario Brother has been arrested for groping a woman in New York City's Times Square.
An NYPD spokesman says 34-year-old Damon Torres of North Bergen, N.J., was charged with forcible touching on Wednesday. Police say Torres blocked a 58-year-old woman's path in front of 4 Times Square and grabbed her thigh before walking away.
The woman notified police officers, who arrested Torres at the famous tourist attraction. Torres was also charged with marijuana possession.

THE TRUE SPIRIT OF XMAS


Judge: Woman can flip finger with holiday lights

Published - Dec 20 2012 04:57PM CST
MICHAEL KUNZELMAN, Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A Louisiana woman ran afoul of police when she gave her neighbors an unusual holiday greeting, hanging Christmas lights in the shape of a middle finger.
Sarah Childs was in a dispute with some of her neighbors in Denham Springs, just east of Baton Rouge, so she decided to send a message with her decorations. Neighbors complained and police threatened to arrest her, so she and the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana sued the city.
A judge ruled in her favor Thursday.
U.S. District Judge James Brady issued an order temporarily barring city officials from interfering with the display. The two-page order said the city's "continued efforts" to prevent Childs from displaying her holiday lights will violate her rights to free speech and due process. He scheduled a Jan. 7 hearing in Baton Rouge.
Denham Springs attorney Paeton Burkett said the city will comply with Brady's order, but she declined to comment on the lawsuit.
The suit said the police department dispatched an officer to Childs' home after several neighbors complained directly to the mayor. The officer told Childs she would be violating the city's "obscenity statute" and could be fined if she didn't take it down, according to the lawsuit. Ooops!  Denham Springs doesn't have an obscenity statute.
After another round of complaints, the city responded by issuing Childs with two tickets, according to the suit. One accused her of obstructing the flow of traffic as she walked down the side of a street. Another ticket accused her of disturbing the peace while singing an impromptu song about her neighborhood dispute while standing in her driveway.
"Childs' impromptu song allegedly contained some obscenities directed at her neighbors, so the city cited her for simple assault," the suit said.
The ACLU would not say exactly what the neighborhood dispute was about, and a no one answered at a telephone listing for Childs.

Return of the West African Vampires

WEST AFRICAN VAMPIRE

~Physical Characteristics~

Most Vampires appear human but change form when fighting or feeding. However, there are a few species which may only attain a human appearance by feeding on humans. The West African Vampire is an example of this.

They are biologically a ‘blank slate’, that is to say they have a rare mutation of the albino gene, which has no skin pigmentation, hair or eye colouring. They literally are a translucent white because their bodies are missing the basic hormones which regulate their colouring. They have the unnerving appearance of a native to the continent of Africa, but with white afro hair, white eyes with small black pupils and a white, sometimes translucent skin.

This species is always male and as such, their feeding is concentrated on human males. (The vampire photo shown here is a female vampire and females can be used for feeding in place of males but ars not recommended. see below)  Because of their translucence The West African Vampire cannot be photographed.  Their choice of meal is not born from luxury; rather it is out of necessity. Not only do they drink the blood of the victim, but they take other fluids from the human body including from the pituitary gland. By ingesting the victim’s blood, hormones and other bodily fluids, the West African Vampire adopts the colouring of its victim and sometimes other physical characteristics. This species is the most like a Shape Shifter, as its appearance can alter depending on the appearance of its meal.

On this note, West African Vampires generally choose human males to feed on because if it fed on a female and imbibed a large amount of oestrogen; it would greatly effect its shift in shape. Although SSIT cannot confirm if this could actually cause the male West African Vampire to change into a female, scientifically we can project it would be worse than a transsexual undergoing medical treatment to change gender.

West African Vampires do not have fangs or sharp elongated teeth, (see photo) and their strength is five times that of a human being. Instead, this species uses the flora or fauna in its native area, such as specific plants or venom that has a paralysing effect, to make poisoned darts and stun their victims. When their prey has been neutralized, the West African Vampire then carries the human to their hide-out/home to slowly drain them. The feeding is a drawn out process as they use many of the victim’s bodily fluids to replenish their own. This is while the human is alive, paralysed and in agony throughout the entire time.

Their longevity is one of the shortest of the Vampire species, reaching 200 years old. Of course, this age can only be reached from successfully hunting to prolong its strength and regeneration. However, if a West African Vampire cannot feed at least once a month, then their metabolic system, strength and life expectancy fails.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Bizarre Christmas Dinner in Japan

In Japan, it’s not turkey or ham that highlights the holiday dinner. No bread dressing or cranberry sauce.  Col. Sanders is their Santa Claus! Or, rather, he’s responsible for providing them with their holiday meal of choice. Sales at KFC in the month of December in Japan are 5-10% higher than any other time of year. The popularity of Kentucky Fried Chicken took off in Japan 40 years ago when a hugely successful marketing campaign brought a Christmas meal of chicken and wine for a then pricey $10. It has been increasingly popular ever since!

How sad.

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Whacking Watermelons

Dec. 16, 2012

Who really enjoys celebrating "National Watermelon Day"?  Other than Gallagher,  Just about everybody. That's right, cause even if you don't like the delicious fruity nectar of this refreshing summer snack, you can still spit the seeds at all the people you don't like and play it off like you were just trying to not swallow the seeds. There are hardly any other foods and no other fruits in which spitting is not only acceptable but encouraged and that is why we celebrate August 3rd for being "National Watermelon Day".

Friday, December 14, 2012

Smashed Pachyderms in Siberia


Published - Dec 14 2012 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=FhsU9TFgUUwMOSCOW (AP) —

Circus trainers claim two of their elephants were saved from the deadly Siberian cold by vodka.  We think they kept warm by engaging in the oldest of all exercises, mating. (See url posted above)

Emergency ministry spokesman Alexander Davydov said Friday that the elephants were in a trailer that caught fire Thursday outside the city of Novosibirsk, forcing trainers to take them out into the bitter cold before another truck arrived to deliver them to a warm gym at a local community college.

The Komsomolskaya Pravda daily reported that trainer Leonid Labo had the animals, aged 45 and 48, drink 10 liters (2.6 gallons) of vodka diluted in warm water — and a veterinarian said later that only the tips of their ears were frostbitten.

Although scientists say that alcohol can make humans feel warmer but actually lowers their core body temperature, Novosibisk zoo director Rostislav Shilo told the daily that the vodka saved the animals from frostbite and pneumonia, without harming or even intoxicating them.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Get Out of That Kitchen


Man killed over Florida pork chop. Dec. 2012 

Sheila Carroll, Dallas Top News Examiner
At 10:27 p.m. Tuesday, police responded to a 911 emergency call of a reported shooting at a home on May Avenue. When police arrived at the home, they found 35-year-old Robert Eugene Gray, Jr. deceased from apparent gunshot wounds to the head.
A witness reported that shortly after Gray arrived home on Tuesday intoxicated, he and 55-year-old Thomas Matthew Hahn Jr., who was in the kitchen cooking, began arguing over how to cook pork chops. Immediately after the argument Hahn went to his bedroom to retrieve a rifle. He then walked into the living room and fired three rounds, two of which struck Gray in the head.
Thomas Mathew Hahn Jr. was arrested and charged with second-degree murder and is being held without bond.
Gray, Hahn and two other men share the May Avenue home in Holly Hill, Florida .
The men’s other two roommates told police that no apparent struggle occurred between Gray and Hahn immediately before the shooting. The roommates did make claims of previous physical violence between the two men.
A police report indicated that Hahn had previously told his other two roommates that if Gray came home drunk again that he would shoot him. It was also reported that Hahn then loaded his rifle with three bullets and said, “That should be enough.”
Hahn has denied the murder charge and stated that he was acting in self-defense.
Police believe that alcohol played a role in the shooting death of Gray.  No kidding?

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Deranged Dad Carves Pentagram In Son's Back


Texas man accused of carving pentagram into son

Published - Dec 12 2012 07:05PM CST
ANGELA K. BROWN, Associated Press
RICHLAND HILLS, Texas (AP) — A North Texas man carved a large pentagram into his 6-year-old son's back Wednesday, telling a 911 dispatcher that he did it because "it's a holy day," police said.
In a matter-of-fact tone, Brent Troy Bartel told a dispatcher, "I shed some innocent blood," according to a copy of the recording of his early Wednesday morning 911 call released by Richland Hills police. After the dispatcher said, "I'm sorry?" he repeated those words, then said he inscribed a pentagram on his son. When the dispatcher asked why, Bartel said, "because it's a holy day" before hanging up.
At the family's modest one-story home in the Fort Worth suburb, some neighbors said they were shocked that Bartel was accused of injuring his son but that they didn't know the private family well. Smeared blood could be seen on the front door frame, put there by Bartel, Richland Hills police said.
It's unclear what Bartel meant about the day or why he used a pentagram, a five-sided star that's a symbol for many pagan groups.
Wednesday's date is 12-12-12, a once-in-a-century event. The Mayan calendar's end is Dec. 21, 2012, or 12-21-12, said to portend the end of the world, but some have interpreted that as 12-12-12. Also, Catholics celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 12.
Bartel, 39, was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and was jailed in lieu of $500,000 bond. He did not yet have an attorney, police Sgt. Nathan Stringer said.
Richland Hills officers found the child with his back almost entirely covered with a large pentagram. The wounds bled a lot but were not deep enough to require stitches, Stringer said. The boy was taken to a hospital, where he was listed in stable condition.
Police also recovered a box cutter they believe was used to cut the boy, he said.
Police plan to order a mental evaluation for Bartel, which will not affect the charges against him but will determine if he should be placed in a mental health unit in jail.
His mother, Lori Ponce, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that her son does not have a history of mental illness but has recently been under a lot of stress.
"Brent is not a demon. ... He loves that boy," Ponce said. "Something happened. Don't paint him as some crazy man. No, that's not him."
His stepfather told the newspaper that Bartel was "deep into the Old Testament" and may have convoluted some biblical references about Passover, a weeklong Jewish commemoration of the deliverance of the ancient Hebrews from slavery in Egypt that occurs in March or April.
"If you know about the Old Testament, there's the Passover marks on the door frame (that) were done with a sacrificial lamb, definitely not sacrificial children," John Ponce said.
As officers were headed to the scene after Bartel's chilling call, a neighbor also called 911, saying a woman was outside her door and telling her something was going on at her house. The child's mother could be heard on the recording saying, "He's trying to hurt my 6-year-old" and "Please hurry! Oh, God!"
When the dispatcher talked to the boy's mother directly and asked whether her husband had weapons, she said she had taken one knife but there were a lot of knives in the house.
Richland Hills police have responded to a few domestic calls involving verbal arguments at the home in the past four or five years, Stringer said.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

A New Noah?


Published - Dec 10 2012  UP
Johan Huibers poses with a stuffed tiger in front of the full scale replica of Noah’s Ark after being asked by a photographer to go outside...
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Johan Huibers poses with a stuffed tiger in front of the full scale replica of Noah’s Ark after being asked by a photographer to go outside with the animal in Dordrecht, Netherlands, Monday Dec. 10, 2012. The Ark has opened its doors in the Netherlands after receiving permission to receive up to 3,000 visitors per day. For those who don’t know or remember the Biblical story, God ordered Noah to build a boat massive enough to save animals and humanity while God destroyed the rest of the earth in an enormous flood. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Since Huibers finished the project there has been no rain anywhere near where the arc is currently berthed.  Critics of Huibers and his arc have pointed out that it is not large enough to hold two examples of every species on earth.  A Central American group has pressured Huibers not to include mosquitos.  Others oppose the inclusion of the common roach.  There also is the issue of endangered species and the ethnicity and race of Huibers and other members of his party.

Monday, December 10, 2012


Stressed-out Monkey in Toronto IKEA Store

Published - Dec 10 2012 11:45AM CST
Associated Press
TORONTO (AP) — Shoppers at an Ikea store in Toronto weren't monkeying around when they reported a primate on the loose.
Customers spotted a monkey — clad in a pint-sized shearling coat — wandering around the store's parking lot Sunday afternoon. The baby monkey, named Darwin, made its way through rows of parked cars and ended up outside a set of store doors.
Ikea staff lured the primate into a corner before calling police, who contacted the city's Animal Services department, said Staff Sgt. Ed Dzingala.
"It was just outside the store, just in a corner area where the monkey had nowhere to go, but it was pretty scared," Dzingala said. He said the monkey had escaped its crate in a parked car.
The monkey, which reportedly wore a diaper as well, never made it inside the store and was picked up by Animal Services officers within half an hour. The animal's owner later contacted police and was reunited with the pet, Dzingala said.
Word of the incident sparked a flurry of comments and photos on Twitter, as well as two parody Twitter accounts which took on the persona of the wandering monkey.
Mary Lou Leiher from Toronto Animal Services said the monkey's owners have been fined $240 for breaking the city's prohibited-animal bylaw. She said Darwin was being fed and cared for while officials tried to find an animal sanctuary for it.
Leiher said there's a chance the monkey is carrying Herpes B and that having it live in a city puts both the animal and human beings at risk.
She said the monkey was very quiet and lacked signs of personality during a brief visit, adding that can be a sign of stress.

Saturday, December 8, 2012

STRANGE LAWS

In Bozeman, Montana it is illegal to have sex in front of your home naked.  At the very least you must wear socks.

Friday, December 7, 2012

Weird serial killer boasts about killings


 Dec 07 2012 
MARK THIESSEN, Associated Press


ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Investigators who spent hours interviewing an Alaska serial killer say he may have murdered close to a dozen people, and that he killed for pleasure and was only conflicted about how his notoriety would affect his loved ones.
Israel Keyes confessed to killing eight people across the country before he committed suicide last weekend in an Anchorage jail, but FBI and Anchorage police investigators said Friday they think he may have had up to three additional victims.

"Based on some of the things he told us, and some of the conversations we had with him, we believe the number is less than 12," FBI Special Agent Jolene Goeden said. "We don't know for sure. He's the only who could have ultimately answered that."
Keyes slit his wrist and strangled himself with bedding Sunday at the Anchorage Correctional Facility. He was facing federal murder charges in the kidnapping and death of an 18-year-old Samantha Koenig, who was abducted from an Anchorage coffee stand Feb. 1.
Goeden and Anchorage Police officer Jeff Bell conducted up to 40 hours of interviews with Keyes after his March arrest in Texas. During that time, Keyes confessed to killing Koenig, along with Bill and Lorraine Currier in Vermont, and five other people — although details for those victims were scarce.
The interviews also revealed Keyes' motivation, which was simple, Goeden and Bell told The Associated Press.
"He enjoyed it. He liked what he was doing," Goeden said. "He talked about getting a rush out of it, the adrenalin, the excitement out of it."
Keyes also liked seeing coverage of his crimes in the media, and he appeared to get a thrill out of talking about some of them with investigators, Goeden and Bell said.
His crimes started small with burglaries and thefts — until the urge escalated to murder.
Bell said Keyes told investigators the first violent crime he committed was a sexual assault in Oregon, in which he let the victim go.
"He planned on killing her but didn't," Bell said.
Keyes said the rape occurred sometime between 1996 and 1998 along the Deshutes River near Maupin, Ore., after he got the girl away from her friends. The girl was between the ages of 14 and 18, and would be in her late 20s or 30s now. No police reports were filed, and the FBI is seeking more information on the crime.
Of the five other murders Keyes confessed to, four were in Washington state and one occurred on the East Coast, with the body disposed of in New York.
In the case of the Curriers, authorities say Keyes flew from Alaska to Chicago on June 2, 2011, rented a car and drove almost 1,000 miles to Essex, Vt.
There, he carried out a "blitz" style attack on the Curriers' home, bound the couple and took them to an abandoned house. Bill Currier was shot, and his wife was sexually assaulted and strangled.
Keyes immediately returned to Alaska, and followed the case on his computer by monitoring Vermont media. The couple's bodies were never found after the house was demolished and taken to a landfill.
Leaving the area shortly after a murder was a familiar tactic for Keyes. After he abducted Koenig, he took her to a shed at his Anchorage home, sexually assaulted her and strangled her.
Keyes then left the next day for a two-week cruise, storing Koenig's body in the shed. Upon his return, he dismembered the body and disposed of it in a lake north of Anchorage. He was later arrested in Texas after using Koenig's debit card.
Koenig was his only known victim in Alaska. Goeden and Bell said he never explained why his broke his own rule of never killing anyone in the town where he lived because it's easier to be connected to such a killing.
The only mistake Keyes said he made was letting his rental car be photographed by an ATM when withdrawing money in Texas.
Unlike his earlier killings, the deaths of the Curriers and Koenig received a lot of news coverage.
"He was feeding off the media attention in the end," Bell said.
That wasn't the only change. His time between murders was growing shorter.
"He talked about that time period in between crimes, that over the last few years, that became quicker," Goeden said.
During their interviews, Keyes was willing to talk about the Koenig and Currier killings since he knew authorities had evidence against him.
"It was chilling to listen to him. He was clearly reliving it to a degree, and I think he enjoyed talking about it," Bell said of the Koenig and Currier deaths. But in the other cases, Keyes wasn't as forthcoming because he knew investigators had little on them.
Keyes, a construction contractor, told investigators that they knew him better than anyone, and that this was the first time he'd ever spoken about what he called his double life.
"A couple of times, he would kind of chuckle, tell us how weird it was to be talking about this," Bell said.
Even though he was talking to investigators, Keyes didn't want his name made public in any of the other investigations, especially the Curriers, because of the fallout of publicity. He threatened to withhold information if his name got out
"If there was nobody else that he was concerned about, I think he wanted his story out there. He wanted people to know what he did," Goeden said. "What he was worried about is the impact that was going to have on the people that cared about him and were close to him."
Keyes will be buried Sunday in Washington state. His mother and four of his nine siblings were traveling to the funeral, his mother's pastor, Jacob Gardner, told the Anchorage Daily News.

Pre-frozen death weapon


Gun Found in Grocery Store Meat (00:33)

Dec. 7 
A worker unwrapping frozen meat at an Albertsons store in Roswell, NM found a handgun and ammunition packed with it. The semi-automatic Rock Island Armory .38 Super along with seven rounds of ammo found with it is now with police. Police speculated the gun may have been "hot" and its owner sought to cool it off.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Sex Slavery in Rural Missouri



Published - Dec 06 2012 
BILL DRAPER, Associated Press
In this photo provided Sept. 10, 2010, by the LaClede County, Mo., sheriff's office is Edward Bagley Sr., 43, of Lebanon, Mo. Bagley is one of five...
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
In this photo provided Sept. 10, 2010, by the LaClede County, Mo., sheriff's office is Edward Bagley Sr., 43, of Lebanon, Mo. Bagley is one of five Missouri men accused of taking part in the sexual torture of a young woman allegedly kept as a sex slave by one of the men. (AP Photo/LaClede County Sheriff' Office)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A woman accused with her husband of forcing a teenage girl to be a sex slave for years in their mobile home pleaded guilty Thursday to a federal conspiracy charge in a deal contingent on her being sentenced to probation.
Marilyn Bagley, 47, admitted that she helped groom the girl to be her husband's sex slave after the teen moved into the couple's trailer in February 2003 in southwest Missouri. She began living there intermittently the year before.
Bagley pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking in exchange for prosecutors dropping all other charges against her and recommending that she serve only probation. If the judge rejects the recommendation, she can plead not guilty again and go to trial. There was no indication of when the judge might rule on the matter.
Prosecutors said the girl was a mentally deficient runaway who was recruited at the age of 16. Bagley said the girl moved in when she was 17 and never had sex with her husband until after she turned 18.
Thursday's hearing was not announced beforehand and came as a surprise to the attorney for Bagley's husband, Ed Bagley, who is scheduled to stand trial in February. Susan Dill said she was disappointed that nobody told her about the hearing and questioned why it was kept so hushed.
"I really question why this was done in secret, and I wasn't given notice as I would be normally," said Dill, who declined to speculate about how the Marilyn Bagley's plea deal might affect her husband's case.
Three men — James Noel, Michael Stokes and Dennis Henry — have pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and are awaiting sentencing. A fourth man, Bradley Cook, pleaded guilty to sex trafficking and is expected to be sentenced to 20 years as part of his deal with prosecutors.
In their plea agreements, all four admitted going to the Bagley home to watch or take part in the sexual torture of the girl in exchange for money, cigarettes and other items.
Ed Bagley, 45, is charged with 11 federal counts, including conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and forced labor trafficking. If convicted of the most serious charges, he could be sentenced to life in prison.
Prosecutors declined to comment about the plea because Ed Bagley's case is still pending. Don Ledford, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office, declined to say why Thursday's hearing was kept quiet.
"It's unusual for a plea hearing to be held that hasn't been previously announced on the court docket, but it does happen," he said. "I wouldn't go so far as to say it's rare."
Marilyn Bagley's attorney, P.J. O'Connor, also declined to comment about the plea deal, in which prosecutors agreed to drop charges of sex trafficking, forced labor trafficking, document servitude and use of an interstate facility to facilitate unlawful activity against his client.
Prosecutors said the couple promised the girl, who grew up in foster care homes, "a great life" in which they would help her become a model and dancer and make her "dreams come true."
Federal authorities began investigating the couple in February 2009 after the victim was taken to a hospital in cardiac arrest, which prosecutors said happened while she was being suffocated and electrocuted during a torture session.
Marilyn Bagley told The Associated Press last year that the victim collapsed while getting ready for work, not while being tortured. The couple had claimed the sex acts, including some the government characterized as torture, were consensual as part of their bondage, dominance, sadism and masochism lifestyle, in which they said the young woman was a voluntary participant.

Incest in Connecticut & Everywhere Else


Police: Conn. man fathered child with daughter

BETHEL, Conn. (AP) — A 46-year-old Connecticut man and his 23-year-old daughter told police they weren't certain they were related before beginning a sexual relationship and having a son together, police said in charging them with sex crimes.

George Sayers Jr. and Tiffany Hartford, of Bethel in western Connecticut, were charged Monday with third-degree sexual assault, obscenity and conspiracy after authorities said DNA tests showed Sayers was the father of both Hartford and her baby. Each pleaded not guilty and was being held on bail.
Hartford told police she aspired to be a porn star before she got pregnant, according to arrest warrant affidavits. The infant is now in state custody.

Hartford's public defender didn't return a message Thursday. It's not clear if Sayers has a lawyer. A woman who answered the phone at their home Thursday hung up on a reporter.
The investigation began in February when Hartford's now-former girlfriend complained to police that Sayers didn't get her permission before selling videos and photos of her and Hartford having sex, according to the affidavits.

Questions about the relationship between Sayers and Hartford arose when police executed a search warrant at their home in the pornography investigation. Detectives asked a relative at the house about the couple's relationship, and she told them that "Tiffany is his girlfriend, but we also think that she is his daughter," the affidavits say.

Police then asked Hartford about the relationship and she said Sayers was her boyfriend. When pressed if Sayers was her father, Hartford said she wasn't sure, police said.

Police said Sayers initially told them that Hartford was a friend. He later acknowledged that he was once told he might be her father, but he didn't believe it, the affidavits say. Still later, he told detectives that he or other men, including his deceased brother, could be Hartford's father, and insisted there was no proof that she was his daughter, the affidavits say.

Investigators say they asked Sayers if a paternity test would show that Hartford and her baby were his children, and he responded that it could be a possibility, according to the affidavits.
Danbury State's Attorney Stephen Sedensky declined to comment, citing rules of professional conduct on pending cases. He said incest cases are rare in Connecticut.
The arrest warrant affidavits were first obtained and reported by The News-Times of Danbury, and later by The Hartford Courant. They are now sealed from public view.

The obscenity and conspiracy charges are related to the selling of the videos and photos of Hartford and her former girlfriend, the affidavits say. The girlfriend was 16 or 17 at the time and knew she was being recorded having sex with Hartford, police said. The age of consent in Connecticut is 16.

The third-degree sexual assault charge is a felony that carries one to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000. They are accused under a section of the charge that deals with related people.
Sayers is being held on $100,000 bail and Hartford is detained on $25,000 bail, both set by a sexist judge. They're due back in Danbury Superior Court on Dec. 21.

Fat Inmate Foils Own Escape


Maybe for the imprisoned, any escape sounds like a good one. But for this oversized inmate, what could have been a great escape turned into a big disaster.
The Brazilian prisoner was trying to squeeze out of a hole in the wall smashed open with a shower pipe by fellow escapees. The tattooed and bald convict tried to wriggle through after a smaller man, but he got stuck midway, half his body touching freedom, and his legs and middle stuck back in the prison.
While prisoners on the inside tried unsuccessfully to push him through, Rafael Valadão's yells of pain alerted the authorities to the plan. The gig was up.
The prison break took place at Ceres, near Goiania, according to the Telegraph. And despite both the bumbling efforts inside the prison, one actually did get free. Just not the oversized inmate. You can see the photos here.
"He has a very large physique and is also very tall," Lieutenant Tiago Costa, of the local fire brigade told the publication.
The one prisoner who made it out managed to climb over a 15-foot wall and has not been found. Valadão, the prisoner stuck in the hole, is being treated for a possible fractured rib. And possibly, a bruised ego.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Oops! A do over, maybe?



Chateau de Bellevue The original 13,000 sq m chateau was due to be renovated
Builders have demolished an 18th Century chateau in Bordeaux belonging to a Russian businessman, apparently by mistake.
Owner Dmitry Stroskin said he was shocked and had only ordered them to knock down an adjacent outhouse.
The local mayor in the nearby French village of Yvrac is said to be furious.
Chateau de Bellevue had been due to be renovated to its former glory - Mr Stroskin has said he will rebuild it exactly as it was.
The original 13,000 sq m chateau, which featured grand horseshoe steps and a once palatial ballroom, was previously hired out for wedding receptions and functions.
It sat within an imposing vineyard estate, where now only the rundown outhouse is still standing.
"The Chateau de Bellevue was Yvrac's pride and joy, the whole village is in shock," former owner Juliette Marmie told Associated Press. "How can this construction firm make such a mistake?"
Mr Stroskin has told local media that he is "in shock" and understands the locals' feelings.
French prosecutors are reported to be investigating whether there was a breach of the building code.

Monday, December 3, 2012

Dominican TV Host Sets Guest's Head On Fire



SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — 12-3-12

An American magician was recuperating Sunday in the Dominican Republic after a local television show host lit his head on fire with a flammable cologne. California-native Wayne Houchin said he is receiving treatment for burns that doctors are cautiously optimistic will not result in scars. A Sunday statement on his Facebook page says he is "resting, healing & am; working through the legal process" in the Caribbean nation, where he had been performing with a group of fellow magicians.

During a Nov. 26 appearance on the Dominican Republic's "Closer To The Stars" TV program, guest host Franklin Barazarte abruptly doused the U.S. magician's head with "Agua de Florida," a flammable cologne commonly used in Santeria rituals. A video of the incident shows the magician's head bursting into flames as Barazarte runs his hands over Houchin's hair.

It is unclear why the TV host doused his head in the liquid and what ignited it. The program has not commented on the incident.

The video also shows Houchin, Barazarte and others struggling to extinguish the flames for several seconds. The incident was not broadcast on Dominican television but a video of it has appeared on the Internet.  A demonstration photo is shown below that is not the original incident.  In it a man offers to set his own head on fire in a wager.  In the 2d photo it is clear a man's head and face are on fire.

Houchin said Barazarte's actions were completely unexpected and he considers it a criminal attack.
He said "the outrage here and outpouring of support has been incredible."
It was not immediately clear if he has retained a lawyer in the Dominican Republic.

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Sentence From Heaven


Dec 1, 2012

An Oklahoma judge sentenced a teen to attend church every Sunday for 10 years as part of his deferred sentence for a DUI manslaughter case he pled guilty to in August.  Tyler Alred killed his friend and passenger, John Luke Dum, 16, of Muskogee, Okla., Dec. 3 when he crashed his Chevrolet pickup into a tree. Alred had been drinking at the time.

Alred’s clean criminal and school records helped him avoid jail time, but the Muskogee County judge who deferred his sentence also gave him a long list of probation conditions. In addition to his mandated church attendance, Alred must also wear an alcohol-monitoring anklet, attend victim-impact panels, speak at events about the consequences of drinking and driving, and graduate from high school.

Ram On The Lam


DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A shaggy brown sheep successfully dodged police, his handlers and a few cars while trotting through downtown Des Moines after escaping from his trailer.
But the ram's freedom only lasted about an hour Friday before he was cornered and tackled by about a half dozen of his pursuers.
The Navajo-Churro ram jumped from a trailer near the Iowa Capitol on Friday morning. He led police, Animal Rescue League officials and some Capitol workers on a chase.
Video from KCCI-TV shows the animal strolling along downtown sidewalks and streets, resembling a wooly ball of hair bouncing on tiny legs and picking up speed when someone gets too close.
Authorities say the ram was being taken from Creston to Cedar Rapids.
The ram's owner was tortured briefly by the Des Moines Police SWAT team as part of a training exercise and released with a warning.

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Back to the Wild in Wyoming

12/1/2012 CASPER, Wyo.

(Casper students)
A grisly murder-suicide at a Wyoming community college occurred when  a man shot his father in the head with a bow and arrow in front of a computer science class.  The father, James Krumm, was the instructor of the class.  A short while earlier the killer, Christopher Krumm, fatally stabbed his father's live-in girlfriend at their home a couple of miles away.  The younger Krumm had recently arrived in Casper from Connecticut. No motive for the killings was determined.