National Roundup

Connecticut Defense: Co-defendant claims other killings NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) -- Attorneys for a Connecticut man charged with killing a woman and her two daughters in a 2007 home invasion tried to delay closing arguments, saying his co-defendant wrote letters claiming he committed numerous other murders and rapes. Attorneys for Joshua (koh-mih-sar-JEV'-skee) cited letters from Steven Hayes claiming he killed 17 people in the Northeast and committed dozens of date rapes. The letters to a woman in North Carolina were intercepted. Hayes also says he would have killed Komisarjevsky if they got away with the Connecticut crime. Judge Jon Blue denied a request to delay closing arguments, saying it doesn't help Komisarjevsky's case. If convicted, Komisarjevsky faces a possible death sentence. Hayes was convicted last year of raping and strangling Jennifer Hawke-Petit and killing her daughters, who died of smoke inhalation. Hayes is on death row. Virginia Plea hearing postponed again for Pentagon suspect LEESBURG, Va. (AP) -- A plea hearing on larceny charges has been postponed again for a former Marine accused of firing shots at the Pentagon and Marine Corps museum in Quantico. Yonathan Melaku of Alexandria was charged in June in federal court with a series of overnight shootings at military-related targets in northern Virginia beginning last October. He was arrested when police spotted him in Arlington National Cemetery after dark with a backpack containing ammonium nitrate. But that case has been on hold while he's been jailed in Loudoun County with a series of vehicle break-ins. Last month, the county sheriff said Melaku tried to escape from jail. On Tuesday in Leesburg, prosecutors requested a delay of one more month for the plea hearing on the larceny charges. North Dakota Trial set for man accused of killing researcher COOPERSTOWN, N.D. (AP) -- A jury trial has been scheduled for a Cooperstown man accused of killing a North Dakota State University researcher. The Forum reports that Daniel Wacht is slated to stand trial April 16 in Southeast District Court, in Griggs County. Ten days have been set aside for the trial before Judge James Hovey. Wacht is charged with murder in the death of Cooperstown-based NDSU researcher Kurt Johnson. Wacht pleaded not guilty to the charge on May 27. Authorities say Johnson's severed head was found in the Cooperstown home of Wacht, but the rest of his Johnson's body has not been found. If convicted, Wacht faces up to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Illinois 3 Ill. teens charged in deaths of friend's parents BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. (AP) -- Three teens have been charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of a suburban Chicago couple whose son is already facing charges in his parents' deaths, authorities said Tuesday. The charges are in the September killings of Maria and John Granat of Palos Heights, according to Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart. The couple's 17-year-old son, John Granat, was charged with beating his father to death and beating and stabbing his mother to death last month. The couple's bodies, all but unrecognizable, were found in a bedroom splattered from floor to ceiling with their blood. The three teens, 17-year-old Christopher Wyma, 17-year-old Mohammad Salahat and 19-year-old Ehab Qasem, are each charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the Granats' deaths. Authorities say they're friends or classmates of John Granat. They're slated to appear in bond court Tuesday. It wasn't immediately clear whether they have attorneys. The sheriff's office said all three have given detailed, videotaped confessions and led investigators to a knife, baseball bats, bloody clothing and cash taken from the victims. John Granat initially denied being involved in the killings, but the sheriff's department said officers quickly determined that at the time he said he was asleep in the house in unincorporated Palos Park, a police officer had pulled him over for a minor traffic offense. Authorities said when Granat was confronted with that information, he gave a number of accounts of what happened and at one point told detectives he'd allowed friends in the home to commit a crime. He's being held without bond in the psychiatric wing of the Cook County Jail hospital. Massachusetts Brockton double slay suspect faces trial soon BROCKTON, Mass. (AP) -- A lawyer for the Brockton man accused of two racially motivated killings who once showed up in court with a swastika carved into his forehead says his client's trial is likely to be held in Plymouth County. Attorney Joseph Krowski Jr. tells The Enterprise that he expects a trial date to be set next month. Krowski asked that the trial for 24-year-old Keith Luke be moved out of Plymouth, Norfolk and Bristol counties because of extensive media scrutiny. A judge has denied the motion. Luke is charged with fatally shooting two people in Brockton and wounding a third in January 2009. The victims were of Cape Verdean descent. He allegedly told police he was on a mission to kill "nonwhites." Krowski has indicated he may pursue an insanity defense. South Carolina Death penalty trial to begin in Florence in Feb. FLORENCE, S.C. (AP) -- Trial has been set for February for a Florence man accused of killing a 69-year-old woman more than three years ago. The Morning News of Florence reported that prosecutors plan to seek a death sentence if 24-year-old David Gerrard Johnson is found guilty. Johnson is charged with first-degree murder, first-degree burglary, armed robbery and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. The body of Willie Mae Hayes was found stabbed to death Aug. 27, 2008, after she had been reported missing two days earlier. Florence Police Maj. Carlos Raines said officers responding to the missing person's report found someone had forced the door open. Hayes' car was found at an apartment complex nearby. Her body was found in a ditch, wrapped in a bedspread from her home. Published: Wed, Oct 12, 2011