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.

Oops! A do over, maybe?

5 December 2012 

Builders demolish Russian oligarch's French chateau by mistake

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.

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.

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.

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.