National Roundup

Ohio
Judge: Most of mom’s ­confession can be used at trial
BELLEFONTAINE, Ohio (AP) — A judge has ruled most of a confession from an Ohio woman accused of suffocating her three sons can be used at her trial.

A Logan County judge ruled Monday some investigators interrogating Brittany Pilkington overstepped bounds. He ruled parts of the interrogation where she described smothering her sons will be allowed, while a small part won’t.

The Bellefontaine woman has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder charges in the deaths of a toddler and two infants in 2014 and 2015.

The judge found the lengthy interrogation with Pilkington not having legal counsel, food, water and rest pushed parts of the interview too far.

The Columbus Dispatch reports the prosecutor says the ruling won’t hurt his case while Pilkington’s lawyer said jurors could decide for themselves about interrogators’ actions.

Missouri
Police: Priest found hiding in bushes outside woman’s home
RICHMOND HEIGHTS, Mo. (AP) — A priest at a St. Louis County Catholic school has been charged with stalking after police say he was found hiding in the bushes outside a female co-worker’s home.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that 36-year-old Michael McCusker was arrested Friday night after a woman reported a man looking through her windows in Richmond Heights. Officers learned that McCusker is a priest and teacher at St. Louis Priory School in Creve Coeur. He goes by his religious name, the Rev. John McCusker.

Besides the second-degree stalking charge, McCusker also was charged Monday with and resisting arrest. No attorney is listed for him in online court records.

Abbot Gregory Mohrman, of St. Louis Abbey, said in a letter to the school community that McCusker would be removed from his roles in the school and would no longer live on campus.


Washington
Ginsburg makes first public appearance since cancer surgery
WASHINGTON (AP) — Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg made her first public appearance since undergoing lung cancer surgery, attending a concert in her honor given by her daughter-in-law and other musicians.

Ginsburg, 85, had surgery in New York on Dec. 21. She missed arguments at the court in January, her first illness-related absence in more than 25 years as a justice, and has been recuperating at her home in Washington.

On Monday night, Ginsburg attended a concert at a museum a few blocks from the White House. It was given by Patrice Michaels, who is married to Ginsburg’s son, James. Michaels is a soprano and composer.

The concert was dedicated to Ginsburg’s life in the law.

The justice sat in the back of the darkened auditorium at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. The National Constitution Center, which sponsored the concert, did not permit photography.
The performance concluded with a song set to Ginsburg’s answers to questions.

In introducing the last song, Michaels said, “bring our show to a close, but not the epic and notorious story of RBG.”

Ginsburg had two previous bouts with cancer. She had colorectal cancer in 1999 and pancreatic cancer in 2009.

James Ginsburg said before the concert that his mother is walking a mile a day and meeting with her personal trainer twice a week.

Florida
Cold case researcher found dead in ­condominium
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (AP) — Authorities say a woman who was investigating the 2010 death of a Florida sheriff’s deputy’s girlfriend was fatally shot inside her condominium.

Putnam County Sheriff’s officials said 38-year-old Ellie Marie Washtock was found dead by her 15-year-old son on Jan. 31.

Investigators told news outlets that Washtock was a private citizen doing an independent investigation into the death of Michelle O’Connell, the girlfriend of St. John’s County Sheriff’s deputy Jeremy Banks. The weapon used was his department-issued handgun. Her death was ruled a suicide, but her family has questioned the investigation.

Because of that connection, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office was asked to investigate Washtock’s death.

North Carolina
College student finds man in closet wearing her clothes
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — A college student says she found a man in her closet wearing her clothes.

The University of North Carolina-Greensboro student heard strange noises coming from her closet in her off-campus apartment on Saturday. The student told WFMY-TV she asked who was in there and was told “My name’s Drew.”

The student, who asked only to be identified as Maddie, opened the door to find the man sitting on the floor in her clothing with a bag full of clothes, shoes and socks. She talked to him for about 10 minutes and texted photos to her boyfriend.

The man left when the boyfriend arrived.

Police arrested the 30-year-old at a nearby gas station. He was charged with misdemeanor breaking and entering.

Maddie thinks the man has been in her closet before.

Texas
Woman gets 30 years in prison for ­dismemberment killing
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A woman has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for severing the limbs of a family member who was beaten with baseball bats and suffocated after she lured him to a San Antonio home.

A judge sentenced Candie Dominguez on Monday. She had confessed last week to participating in the September 2014 slaying of her cousin, 35-year-old Jose Luis Menchaca, over a botched drug deal and stabbing.

The San Antonio Express-News reports that Dominguez testified Friday she had no remorse for her role in the slaying of Menchaca, whose remains were burned on a barbecue pit.

Dominguez’s then-boyfriend, Daniel Moreno Lopez, also was convicted in the killing last June. Lopez was sentenced to life in prison.

Lopez’s cousin, Gabriel Moreno, was acquitted during a retrial in December after a previous trial ended with the jury deadlocked.