Florida
Women confess to burying father, 94, in yard
EUSTIS, Fla. (AP) - Investigators say two women panicked when they found their 94-year-old father dead in his central Florida home and buried him in the yard.
Lake County Sheriff's spokesman Fred Jones said Thursday that Melvin Kort's daughters confessed to burying him. Their secret started unraveling in September after deputies received a tip about a body buried near the home.
Authorities were conducting a DNA test to confirm Kort's identity. An autopsy showed no signs of trauma. Jones says Kort died four to five years ago.
The Orlando Sentinel reports Kort's brother reported him missing in July and told investigators he hadn't spoken to him in nine years. Deputies stopped by the home and the daughters said their father had moved up north.
The case has been forwarded to the state attorney's office for possible charges.
California
Woman with skull on stick leads Sacramento police to body
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - It sounds like a Halloween prank but Sacramento police say it was all too real.
Authorities say a homeless woman led them to a decomposed body after she was seen walking down the street with a human skull on a stick.
Police tell KTXL-TV that the woman was spotted Wednesday on Connie Drive.
Police stopped her at an abandoned house.
Sgt. Bryce Heinlein says the woman told them she had found the skull and led them to an abandoned homeless camp a couple blocks away. That's where officers found the rest of a decomposing body.
The coroner will determine the identity of the remains and the cause of death.
Virginia
18-year-old dies after Russian Roulette-style game at party
SANDSTON, Va. (AP) - Authorities in Virginia say a teenager has died after shooting himself while playing a Russian Roulette-style game during his 18th birthday party.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports court documents show police found Austin Balcarcel with a gunshot wound to his head Sunday at a home in Sandston.
He was taken to a hospital, where he later died.
Balcarcel's friend told police he and Balcarcel were in the garage when Balcarcel pulled out a revolver, opened it, closed it, spun it around once and put it to his head, pulling the trigger. The gun clicked, but the teen then pulled the trigger a second time and the gun went off.
Henrico County police Lt. Chris Garrett says police are still investigating.
Ohio
Man accused of chaining, raping teen relative swaps lawyers
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) - An Ohioan charged with imprisoning and raping a teenage relative has rejected his third lawyer and been appointed a fourth, while telling a judge that he still wants to represent himself in court.
The Blade newspaper reports a Lucas County judge made the swap Thursday for 53-year-old Timothy Ciboro of Toledo.
He said he wanted to withdraw pending motions in his case and proceed with a trial set for Oct. 31. The judge denied the request, noting she previously decided not to let Ciboro represent himself because of his conduct in court, including interruptions and outbursts.
Ciboro has denied the allegations against him.
His 28-year-old son, Esten Ciboro, also is charged with rape and is representing himself. He hasn't responded to requests for comment.
Both pleaded not guilty.
Tennessee
Ex-coach's wife faces statutory rape charges
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A Knox County judge has set a trial date for the wife of a former high school assistant football coach accused of having sex with a player.
The Knoxville News Sentinel reports that judge Scott Green set the trial date for April 17 in the case of 26-year-old Kelsey McCarter.
McCarter has been charged with six counts of statutory rape by an authority figure and one count of exploitation of a minor by electronic means. She is accused of having sex with a South-Doyle High School football player and sending inappropriate photos via text to the teen.
The alleged encounters took place while the teen was living with McCarter and her husband, Justin McCarter, who invited the teen to live with them after he faced behavioral problems.
McCarter's attorney, Doug Trant, says he's been involved in plea negotiations, but has hit a brick wall.
Louisiana
Strippers fighting age law don't want to reveal names
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Three women fighting Louisiana's new law making 21 the minimum age for working as a stripper are arguing in federal court that they shouldn't have to reveal their names.
Each woman is listed in court records as Jane Doe. Each wants to keep it that way, but the state alcohol commissioner - the defendant in the suit - objects.
The state says in its filings that federal courts only allow plaintiffs to hide their identities in rare cases. And they note that the plaintiffs - ages 18, 19 and 20 - filed the lawsuit so they could continue to "publicly express themselves" through erotic dance.
The women's lawyer says the state appears to hope that the women will withdraw the suit if they have to reveal their identities.
Louisiana
Judge loses suit against justices over recusal
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit that a member of Louisiana's Supreme Court filed against four fellow justices.
Justice Jefferson Hughes filed suit last December saying he was illegally removed from two cases against oil companies. His suit said defendants sought his removal because lawyers for plaintiffs in the cases contributed to a political action committee that supported his 2012 election campaign.
U.S. District Judge Sarah Vance on Thursday dismissed the suit, citing the 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which keeps citizens from suing their own state in federal court unless the state has waived its sovereign immunity.
Hughes's attorneys had argued that removing him from the cases violated his federal constitutional rights, and that there was no means of appealing his removal in state court.
Published: Mon, Oct 24, 2016
