Two teenagers were charged Tuesday in the killings of a woman who was stabbed and cut more than 100 times and her 10-year-old son, who had a television smashed over his head, prosecutors said.
Stafon Edward Thompson, 17, and Brian Lee Flowers, 16, both of Minneapolis, were each charged as adults with first-degree murder in the deaths of Katricia Daniels, 36, and her son, Robert Shepard. If convicted, the teens face life in prison without the possibility of parole.
According to criminal complaints, Thompson and Flowers blamed the killings on each other. They allegedly knew Daniels through her 15-year-old son, who lives in Chicago.
The boys indicated that robbery was a motive, but Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman doubted that, noting the extreme violence. The only thing apparently taken was Daniels’ cell phone.
“We don’t know why this murder was committed and we may never know why. The level of violence associated with this crime is difficult to comprehend and difficult to imagine,” Freeman said.
Thompson and Flowers were being held pending their first court appearances Wednesday, when they will be assigned public defenders. Neither could be reached for comment; jail inmates in Hennepin County are not allowed to take phone calls.
Daniels’ boyfriend, Joseph Williams, found the bodies Thursday morning. Williams’ 1-year-old daughter was bloody but unharmed. Daniels’ body was found in the bathroom while Shepard was in a bedroom.
Blood was spattered throughout the house, and bloody footprints, handprints and fingerprints were left behind, the complaint said.
Police recovered two knives and a golf club in the Daniels’ house that they believe were used in the killings. They also found a knife in a garbage can in the alley.
Freeman said it appeared that Daniels had welcomed the teens into her home when they first arrived June 11.
Investigators were led to the teens by a call made on Daniels’ cell phone.
June 18, 2008
2 teens charged in killings of Minn. mother, son
Man Guilty In Quadruple Slayings
BOSTON — A Suffolk Superior Court jury found a Dorchester man guilty of four counts of murder on Wednesday.
Calvin Carnes, 21, was found guilty of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of Jason Bachiller, 21; Jihad Chankhour, 22; Edwin Duncan, 21; and Chris Vieira, 19, in December 2005. The shooting took place in Duncan’s basement apartment at 43 Bourneside St.Carnes was also convicted of three counts of armed robbery and single counts each of larceny, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of a shotgun and unlawful possession of a high-capacity weapon.
The victims are all graduates of Wakefield High School. Three of the victims were members of the fledgling rap group Graveside. For More Click Here.
Body Of Missing Mass. Kayaker Found
CASTLE DALE, Utah — Search and rescue teams in Utah are working to recover the body of a Brookline, Mass., man who went missing while kayaking.
Emery County sheriff’s Capt. Kyle Ekker said Douglas Fisher left June 6 for a 10-day trip down the Green and Colorado rivers. Fisher’s family reported him missing when he failed to return on time. Searchers from the state, National Park Service and the sheriff’s office located Fisher’s camp site and kayak Tuesday about 35 miles south of Green River.
The 62-year-old man’s body was later spotted about a half-mile from the camp by searchers in an airplane. Ekker said Fisher, an avid kayaker, appears to have died days ago after falling from a cliff while taking pictures.
Teen from faith-healing family dies at Ore. home
GLADSTONE, Ore. – A 16-year-old boy whose parents rely on prayer instead of medical care has died after an illness marked by stomach pains and shortness of breath. Gladstone police say relatives and church members told them Tuesday that the teenager refused treatment for the illness, as he was entitled to do under Oregon law.
“All of the interviews from last night are that he did in fact refuse treatment,” said Sgt. Lynne Benton. “Unless we can disprove that, charges probably won’t be filed in this case.
She said state law allows minors 14 and older to make such decisions.
Benton said officers and a deputy medical examiner were called to the house of Neil Beagley about an hour after his death late Tuesday afternoon.
Benton said the boy was surrounded by family members when he died, and a board member of the Followers of Christ church contacted the authorities.
The boy got sick about a week ago and – like all members of the religious order – did not receive medical attention. His condition worsened Sunday and members of the church gathered for prayer, Benton said.
An autopsy was scheduled.
In March, the boy’s 15-month-old cousin, Ava Worthington, died at home from bronchial pneumonia and a blood infection. Her parents, Carl and Raylene Worthington, also failed to contact a doctor and are awaiting trial on criminal charges in her death.
Oregon lawmakers passed new laws striking down legal shields for faith-healing parents after several children from the Followers of Christ church died in the 1990s.
The Oregon City church is not associated with a mainstream denomination.
Man who took parts from corpses gets 9 to 27 years
NEW YORK – A man convicted of secretly cutting up corpses – including that of “Masterpiece Theatre” host Alistair Cooke – has received a sentence of nine to 27 years in prison for his role in a ghoulish multimillion-dollar body parts scheme.
Christopher Aldorasi, 36, was convicted in April of 20 counts, including enterprise corruption, grand larceny and reckless endangerment
Prosecutors said Aldorasi and others took bone and tissue without family permission and sold the pieces to medical companies for use in transplants and other medical procedures.
Aldorasi chose to have a judge hear his case instead of a jury. He could have faced up to 60 years in prison.
The scheme’s ringleader, Michael Mastromarino, 44, pleaded guilty earlier this year and admitted that he didn’t get consent for any of the hundreds of bodies he plundered.
Mastromarino, who publicly apologized for his crimes last week, will be sentenced June 27. He faces a maximum of 54 years in prison.
At Aldorasi’s trial, Cooke’s daughter testified that she had never spoken to him or to Mastromarino about harvesting her father’s body.
