Four cemetery workers charged after graves dug up to resell plots

By Calvin Palmer

Four people have been charged after more than 100 graves at the historic Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois, were dug up and the bodies removed in order that the plots could be resold.

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said FBI experts had been drafted in to help identify remains that were allegedly removed from the graves by four cemetery employees and reburied in a mass unmarked grave.

Cemetery manager Carolyn Towns, 49, of Chicago, and gravediggers: Keith Nicks, 45, and Terrence Nicks, 39, both of Chicago; and Maurice Dailey, 59, of Robbins, were charged today with felony counts of dismembering a human body.

Hundreds of people with loved ones buried at Burr Oak flocked to the cemetery at 4400 W 127th St to find out if the graves of their relatives were affected.

Florence Duerson said she has been “crying and crying’’ since seeing reports about the cemetery where her parents, Herman and Dorothy Graves, were buried.

“I couldn’t believe it,’’ Duerson said. “They said they found bones. Please Lord don’t let it be my mom or my dad.’’

Dart said his office started investigating the cemetery six weeks ago when the cemetery’s owners, Perpetua Inc, of Tuscon, Arizona, reported that an employee who began feeling guilty revealed what allegedly had been going on, possibly for as long as four years.

Employees allegedly excavated entire burial caskets — including the concrete vault that surrounds the coffin — and moving them to an area on the north end of the property. The caskets and head stones were often smashed into pieces, officials said.

Dart said employees taking part in the scheme allegedly then resold the plots. They allegedly buried new bodies in the plots, but would do so off the books so cemetery records would not show the bodies had been moved.

“All of us who were working on this for the last week were pretty distraught,” Dart said. “You start with the premise of your own loved ones and how they are cared for after they are buried, but there is also a true significance to this particular cemetery.”

Burr Oak was the Chicago region’s first black cemetery and became the final resting place for Emmett Till, whose 1955 lynching at age 14 added impetus to the civil rights movement. Blues legends such as Dinah Washington, Willie Dixon, and Otis Spann are interred at Burr Oak along with former world heavyweight boxing champion Ezzard Charles, Harlem Globetrotter Inman Jackson, and Negro League baseball players Jimmie Crutchfield and John Donaldson.

The workers appeared to have targeted older, unmarked graves that had not been visited in a while. One such grave belonged to a baby who died in 1946. The headstone was smashed to pieces.

There was no indication that the famous graves had been disturbed.

[Based on reports by the Chicago Sun-Times and Associated Press.]

Yoga expert files petition claiming homosexuality is a disease

By Calvin Palmer

Last week’s ruling by the Delhi High Court in India to decriminalize homosexual acts has come under fire from a yoga expert.

Swami Baba Ramdev has filed a petition with the Supreme Court claiming that homosexuality is a disease that can be cured by yoga.

“It can be treated like any other congenital defect. Such tendencies can be treated by yoga, pranayama (breathing exercises) and other meditation techniques,” he said in the challenge.

Last week’s judgment reversing a colonial-era ban on homosexuality has met with widespread opposition among many religious groups and conservatives who say same-sex relationships threaten the fabric of traditional Indian society.

Ramdev, who has a wide following among millions of middle-class Hindus who regularly tune into his healthy living TV programs on television, said homosexuality caused “mental bankruptcy” and was “against God and creation.”

His petition follows one filed by astrologer Suresh Kumar Kaushal, arguing that if gay sex is legalised, “tomorrow people might seek permission for having sex with animals”.

Kaushal said in his petition that India’s ancient scriptures and values did not permit homosexuality and argued that the recent court judgement would lead to the spread of HIV and Aids.

The Chief Justice of India, K Balakrishnan, who heard the petition, said the colonial-era law had rarely been used against homosexuals and mainly targeted pedophilia.

He asked the government and rights groups which had campaigned against the law to respond to the petition.

Under the Indian legal system, any person can challenge a court decision in a higher court.

[Based on reports by AFP and BBC News.]

Teacher arrested over attempted murder of student at school

By Calvin Palmer

A science teacher was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder of a 14-year-old boy following an alleged assault at a school in Mansfield, England, yesterday that left the boy with serious head injuries.

Peter Harvey, 49, is also being questioned about two alleged assault on two other students during the same incident at All Saints’ Roman Catholic School.

Police were called to the school after paramedics arrived to find the 14-year-old pupil lying in a pool of blood at the entrance to a classroom in the science block.

At a news conference today, Detective Superintendent Adrian Pearson, of Nottinghamshire Police said that the two other pupils, a boy and a girl believed to be aged 14, were allegedly assaulted during the same incident in which the teenager was hurt, though less seriously.

The boy was taken to King’s Mill Hospital but his condition deteriorated and he was transferred to a specialist unit at the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham.

Pearson said: “An ambulance was called at just after 11:00 a.m. yesterday morning. Subsequently, a 14-year-old boy was taken to hospital having sustained serious head injuries.

“A 49-year-old local man is in custody at the moment and it is appropriate to say he has also been arrested on suspicion of assaulting two further children at the time of the incident.

“He will be questioned about that in the next few hours.”

Parents outside the school expressed shock and disbelief.

One father said: “It’s a massive shock and very sad.”

Claire Tonks, 23, was dropping her nephew at the school today. She said: “It’s a good school and I can’t believe it as it could have been my nephew.”

Chris Holmes, 19, a former pupil at the school, said: “I’m shocked. He was an all right teacher and a decent guy.”

Tony Egginton, the Mayor of Mansfield, sent his daughter to the school.

He said: “It’s exceedingly sad that this happened. We don’t know the full details but it does seem bizarre that this has happened. It’s very concerning and I feel for the parents of the other pupils.”

[Based on reports by The Daily Telegraph and The Times.]

Man accused of keeping his stepson as a sex slave for six years

By Calvin Palmer

A Vermont man kept his stepson as a sex slave, threatened him, denied him food and water and confined him to a bedroom with an alarm system designed to stop his escaping, according to police.

The boy, now 17, lived with his stepfather for almost six years. He told police Robert J. Pratt sent him to school in long-sleeved shirts and pants so no one would see his bruises and scars.

He came forward after Pratt, 37, of Bennington, kicked him out of the apartment. He went to live with his mother in the same apartment complex and told her of his life with Pratt.

Investigators made the boy wear a wire in an attempt to verify his claims.

When asked by the victim why Pratt sexually abused him, Pratt replied: “I have tried to block that out.”

Under police questioning, Pratt did not deny the sexual activity but blamed it on the victim’s “desires”.

Pratt, who has no prior criminal record, pleaded not guilty yesterday to six charges, including aggravated sexual assault, lewd and lascivious conduct with a child and unlawful restraint. He was ordered held without bail.

“When this was brought to the attention of law enforcement, we all were taken aback at the pervasive and lengthy abuse that was going on, and had been going on for years,” prosecutor Erica Marthage said today. “It was concerning to all of us that this was something we potentially missed for this long. It makes you wonder.”

Neighbors interviewed at the Applegate Apartments complex were shocked by the charges against Pratt, describing him as a quiet, slightly-built man who was into camping, hunting and fishing.

“He’s not that type,” said Mary Hunt, who has known Pratt since they were children. “I don’t think he’s got a mean bone in his body.”

[Based on a report by the Associated Press.]

Girlfriend killed McNair then turned gun on herself

By Calvin Palmer

Police today confirmed that ex-NFL star Steve McNair was murdered by his 20-year-old girlfriend who then turned the gun on herself.

At a news conference this afternoon, Nashville Police Chief Ronal Serpas said that investigators determined McNair was probably asleep sitting up on the couch when Sahel Kazemi shot him once in the right temple, twice in the chest and then once in the left temple.

Kazemi then killed herself with a single gunshot to the head.

Serpas said that Kazemi was “spinning out of control” in the days before the shootings, upset by impending money problems and the belief that McNair was seeing another woman.

“While we may never know exactly what drove Miss Kazemi to make that decision on that Saturday morning, the totality of the evidence clearly points to a murder-suicide,” Serpas said.

The former Tennessee Titan was found dead at a condominium he shared with a friend. Although married, he had been dating Kazemi for several months.

She bought the semi-automatic pistol two days before the killings.

“On two occasions she told friends and associates that her life was all messed up and she was going to end it,” Serpas said.

[Based on reports by the Associated Press and Bloomberg.com.]

Racist radio broadcast to firefighters follows graffiti incident

By Calvin Palmer

A racially offensive message was broadcast early this morning on a radio frequency used by firefighters in Houston, according to the president of the Houston Black Firefighters Association.

The broadcast comes 24 hours after racist and sexist graffiti was discovered in the women’s quarters at Fire Station 54 in a secured area at the Intercontinental Airport.

Houston Fire Department spokeswoman Alicia White said the radio message was heard by firefighters on the department’s Trac 2. It has been referred to the city’s office of the inspector general for investigation.

She did not provide details of contents of the message.

 Fire Capt Otis Jordan, president of the black firefighter’s group said the broadcast contained a vulgar message directed to African-Americans. An offensive term for blacks was used, he said.

These two incidents have occurred just weeks after Houston City Council authorized sensitivity training to restore harmony after the discovery of a noose-like knot in the locker of Fire Capt Keith Smith.

Smith told city officials the rope was in reality a fisherman’s knot, which he had kept in honor of the firefighter who taught him to tie it.

Mayor Bill White said the city will not tolerate any form of racial or gender discrimination.

“Before we judge and generalize, we need to get the facts,” he added. “We will get to the bottom of it.”

[Based on a report by the Houston Chronicle.]

Standoff ends with house burning down and man taken to hospital

By Calvin Palmer

The siege of a home in a Connecticut suburb ended last night around midnight when Richard Shenkman emerged from the house two hours after he had set it on fire.

Shenkman, 60, was taken into custody by police and is receiving treatment for smoke inhalation at Hartford Hospital.

South Windsor Police Commander Matthew Reed said Shenkman is likely to be arraigned in hospital later today. The charges will included arson, kidnapping and reckless endangerment.

Police say Shenkman kidnapped his wife, Nancy Tyler, in the parking lot of her workplace in downtown Hartford yesterday morning and kept her hostage at a house on Tumblebrook Drive, South Windsor.

The pair had been due in court for another round in their protracted divorce. He had repeatedly refused a judge’s order to vacate the house in Tumblebrook Drive and turn it over to Tyler.

Tyler eventually emerged from the house unharmed at 8:27 p.m. It is not known whether she escaped or was released. She was taken to St Francis Hospital after debriefing by police.

Shortly afterwards shots rang out and the house was set on fire. Shenkman refused to leave the burning building and at one point pleaded with police to shoot him. Around midnight he had had enough and surrendered.

This morning fire officials and the bomb squad were searching for any traces of explosives. Shenkman had claimed to have wired the house with explosives.

[Based on a report by The Hartford Courant.]

Girl convicted of murder for luring boyfriend to his death by love rival

By Calvin Palmer

A teenage girl who lured her boyfriend to his death at the hands of a love rival and his gang was convicted of murder today at the Old Bailey, London.

Samantha Joseph, 16, led Shakilus Townsend, 16, into a quiet cul-de-sac in Thornton Heath, south London, last July, where he was beaten with baseball bats and stabbed six times by members of the Shine My Nine gang.

Joseph, who was 15 at the time, wanted to get back with her former boyfriend, gang member Danny Mclean. She had split up with Mclean 18, from Thornton Heath, shortly before she started going out with Shakilus.

McLean and five other teenagers who ambushed Townsend were also convicted of murder today.

CCTV pictures from the day of the attack show Samantha wearing a see-through floral dress as she met Shakilus and took a bus with him.

He thought they were on their way to meet her cousin but in fact she was playing a “dangerous double game” luring him to the ambush, while secretly keeping in touch with McLean by mobile phone.

Samantha, who can now be named for the first time after Judge Richard Hawkins lifted an order banning her identification, laughed as blows with fists, feet and baseball bats rained down on Shakilus before she turned and walked away.

McLean — who had himself been injured by a bat during the furious melee — plunged a knife into Townsend’s chest, raking it across his liver before twisting the blade.

As he lay bleeding to death, Shakilus called out for his mother and cried: “I don’t want to die.”

The girl was later seen walking off with McLean, carrying his hoodie and a cream-colored handbag stained with his blood.

He was wearing a bright orange bandana, the colour identifying him as a member of the Shine My Nine gang to which he and the other attackers belonged.

The girl later set about trying to “rub out” any trace of her relationship with Shakilus, deleting his online Bebo account and telling friends to erase his number from their phones.

In court she admitted agreeing to lead him into the ambush so that he could get beaten up but said she did not realise he would be seriously hurt.

But jurors rejected her explanation and she was found guilty of murder

Shakilus’ mother Nicola Dyer, 34, said her son was “smitten” with the girl and thought they would get married and start a family together.

“I can’t understand how she could have callously set him up and lured him to his death,” she said.

“Shakilus’ death was a senseless premeditated murder and nobody deserves to die in the appalling way that my son did, especially not a child,” said Dyer. Her son had been in trouble with police in the past but had been making “positive changes in his behaviour”, she said.

Detective Inspector Barney Ratcliffe said Joseph had been “cold and callous about the whole incident, with no signs of emotion”.

Ratcliffe added: “She was an integral part of what was going to happen — if she hadn’t been involved it wouldn’t have happened.”

The other teenagers convicted of murder are brothers Tyrell Ellis, 19, and Don-Carlos Ellis, 18, from Thornton Heath; Andre Johnson-Haynes, a 19-year-old former public schoolboy from Croydon who played rugby for London Irish; Andre Thompson, 17, from South Norwood; and Michael Akinfenwa, 17, from Upper Norwood.

[Based on reports by The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph.]

Divers rescue parakeet all at sea

By Calvin Palmer

Half a mile out to sea off the coast of Devon, England, a group of scuba divers came across a bright blue parakeet (budgerigar) struggling to keep afloat.

Parakeets are not known for their swimming prowess and the exhausted bird looked destined for a watery grave off Berry Head, Brixham.

Who's a lucky boy then? Captain, the parakeet rescued from the sea. Picture courtesy of The Times.

But after a number of attempts, one of the divers managed to scoop up the bird.

The parakeet was given the name Captain and is believed to have recently escaped from its cage and flown out to sea. Parakeets do not normally survive in the wild in Britain.

Cathy Jackman, a member of the Torbay Sub-Aqua Club, said: ”I noticed something fluttering and bobbing up and down on the surface of the water some distance away.

“We went off to investigate and realised that it was a bird of some sort. The bird was flapping and disappearing under the water and had almost drowned as it clearly could not take off or swim.

“We spun around on our boat. It took three passes as it was extremely windy, but we eventually managed to rescue the bird.

“The bird turned out to be a ringed budgie. It couldn’t open its eyes at first and I didn’t think he was going to make it. He was like a floppy, wet rag.

“But I washed off the salt water which was stinging his eyes and wrapped him up warm in a dark, ventilated box to calm him down.

“I was like a mother hen all day, fussing over him every five minutes until we got back in at 5pm. By then he was looking much better and had opened his eyes.

“We kept him overnight and bought him some Trill budgie food.”

The RSPCA collected Captain the next morning and the bird is now recovering at the Little Valley Animal Shelter in Exeter, where staff are appealing for the owner to get in touch.

An RSPCA spokesman said: ”It’s quite an unbelievable story. When the budgie was first brought in we thought he had been rescued from the shore.

“It’s a mystery how he got so far out to sea. It’s a miracle he survived at all. He’s just lucky that the boat was passing at that exact moment and that they spotted him in the water.

“He’s quite a plump little bird so he must be well-loved and cared for by somebody.”

[Based on reports by The Times and South Devon Herald Express.]

Shots fired after woman hostage escapes from her captor

By Calvin Palmer

The Connecticut woman held hostage by her ex-husband since 9:00 a.m. today escaped from her captor this evening as the house was surrounded by police and a SWAT team.

Nancy Tyler was debriefed by police and was taken away in an ambulance to St Francis Hospital in Hartford.

Twenty minutes later, power was cut to the neighborhood and shots were fired. Smoke was pouring out of the house on Tumblebrook Drive, South Windsor, a suburb of Hartford, and police used a bullhorn to tell Richard Shenkman the house was on fire.

The drama began this morning when the 60-year-old Shenkman was waiting on the parking lot of Tyler’s workplace in downtown Hartford.

South Windsor Police Commander Matthew Reed said she called a friend and asked them to call the police but by the time they arrived, Tyler’s car had gone.

A blue van believed to be her husband’s was found nearby. Police believe Shenkman took Tyler by force to South Windsor either forcing her to drive at gunpoint or putting her in the trunk.

Police say the abduction took place after Shenkman missed a Hartford Superior Court hearing this morning. His attorney says the hearing was related to a court order that he vacate the home in South Windsor.

Shortly before 11 a.m. Shenkman telephoned the police to way that he wired up the house with explosives and was holding some people hostage. Gunshots were heard coming from the home and police cordoned off the area.

Hostage negotiators began talking with the man and shortly afterwards a black armored vehicle and the Hartford bomb squad arrived at the scene

“He did make a threat to use explosive devices, and threatened that the house was wired,” Reed said.

Police believe the two shots fired from the house were warning shots to show he meant business.

Shenkman’s attorney, Hugh Keefe, said he was scheduled to meet with Shenkman this morning at Hartford Superior Court. Keefe said the issue was Tyler’s motion of contempt against Shenkman for failing to vacate the South Windsor home.

Keefe said a judge had ordered Shenkman to leave by today. “Today was D-Day,” Keefe said.

Shenkman had run a Bloomfield-based advertising agency with Tyler while they were married, but the business has been inactive for several years, Keefe said.

Court records show Shenkman named in a number of civil cases and criminal charges.

Police charged him with arson for allegedly burning down his 115-year-old Victorian beach house in East Lyme moments before he was supposed to give it to Tyler in 2007.

Shenkman was inside the home on March 5, 2007 when the fire started and was rescued from the porch roof.

State police learned that Shenkman had court orders to vacate the home the morning he allegedly set fire to it. The case is pending in Superior Court in New London.

In April, he was charged with forging Tyler’s signature on life insurance documents. Shenkman took out a $9,000 loan against his wife’s policy.

He turned himself in on an arrest warrant charging him with a single count of second-degree forgery.

[Based on reports by The Hartford Courant and Associated Press.]