Some headlines just write themselves

"Naked Swedish couple assaulted by drunken Aussie in Scotland"

Saw this via Fark!

Bad Places to Masturbate, No. 301

In a DUI checkpoint lane.

Hat Tip: Saw this via Weird Universe!

Richard Davis: Guilty

More to come!

UPDATED: Kevin Hoffmann has filed his take here ...

A jury this afternoon convicted Richard D. Davis on 25 of 26 counts in a case that riveted the metropolitan area because of elements of videotaped violent sex and murder.

Among the many counts, Davis, 44, was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Marsha Spicer. That conviction carries a possible death penalty. He was found not guilty of one count of assault against Michelle Huff-Ricci. The jury deliberated about 4 hours in reaching the verdicts.

Earlier today, during closing arguments, the defense attorney had asked jurors to find Davis guilty of murder in the second degree rather than first degree.

Tom Jacquinot, the defense attorney, stated that it was unclear if Davis and codefendant Dena Riley deliberated in the moments before Spicer died. Jacquinot told jurors that because it was Riley who caused Spicer’s death, that if either she or Davis failed to deliberate then Davis could not be found guilty of first-degree murder.

Buttman, Buttman, Buttman

A gentleman named Donald L. Buttman Jr. has pleaded guilty to his part in a ring that stole cars, chopped them for parts and then sold the material or traded it for drugs, U.S. Attorney John Wood's office reports.

I wished this happened to more thieves

Meet Gibson Cook, an alleged copper thief who spent about 12 hours trapped under a Dumpster. He was trying to lay hands on some ill-gotten recyclables at a South Carolina landfill, police allege. Snip from The AP:

Break-ins at the landfill in Dillon, a town of about 6,400 people in the northeast corner of the state near the North Carolina line, have increased in recent months as thieves look for discarded scrap metal. But employee Charlie Brown said that in 27 years at the dump, this is the first time he's seen anyone get stuck. He said the copper under the trash bin could not have been worth more than $10.

"It was right disgusting," he said. "I wouldn't be under there."

Photos via The AP!

TN woman denies she's a Black Widow

Raynella Dossett Leath of Knoxville, TN, has lost not one, but two husbands. The first -- Ed Dossett, the local DA -- was apparently trampled to death by cattle back in 1992. The second -- David Leath, a barber -- was shot to death in their home in 2003.

But authorities now believe Raynella is responsible for both deaths -- something she strongly denies.

In the first man's death, authorities believe she overdosed him on morphine, then left his body in the field, where it could be trampled. (He had access to morphine because he was already dying of cancer.)

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Keith G in PV!

UPDATE: Joplin teen accused of foiled school shooting

This is the story of Thomas White, now 15, who brought an assault rifle to his Joplin middle school back in 2006. White is being prosecuted as an adult -- he's accused of threatening teachers and students, and even trying to fire at his principal. (The gun reportedly jammed.)

The latest development? His lawyers want him tested to see if he's mentally competent to stand trial. He's been in jail so long, they think he might be mentally ill, possibly schizophrenic, the Joplin Globe reports.

It

That, Colorado police say, is how Allen Ray Andrade referred to Angie Zapata, a transgendered woman that he allegedly beat to death with a fire extinguisher. (Police say Andrade was furious after learning Zapata, who had given him oral sex the day before, was biologically male.)

AP photo of Zapata.

Hat Tip: Many thanks to The_DB

Report: Driver who killed KS deputy was distracted by cellphone, devices

This is the case of Lt. David K. Dillon, an off-duty Douglas County deputy who was struck and killed while riding a bicycle back in late June. The Kansas Highway Patrol investigated the crash and issued the report, the Journal-World says.

Ted Stevens pleads not guilty

Say what you will, but everybody thought R. Kelly was guilty, too.

MO man admits to killing coworker in Maryville

But only because the coworker was planning to kill him, the St. Joe paper reports.

Mom pleads not guilty in Amber Alert case

From Karen Uhlenhuth:

Kassi Elliott pleaded not guilty this morning to a charge of interfering with custody for allegedly taking her infant son from her mother’s home in Independence.

Jackson County Circuit Judge Vernon Scoville set a $50,000 cash-only bond and scheduled a preliminary hearing for 1:30 p.m. Aug. 20 before Judge Jeffry Bushur. Scoville also ordered Elliott, who lives in Holt’s Summit, to stay away from her mother.

According to court documents, Elliott, 17, knocked on the door of her mother, Joella Bennett, about 3 a.m. Tuesday and asked to use the bathroom. About 4:30 a.m., Bennett and another daughter, Sarah, realized that Elliott and the baby, 20 months old, were gone.

The Saudis have completely lost it

The religious police have banned the sale of cats and dogs as pets. Also, Saudis can't walk their existing pets in public anymore.

Because too many men were using them to hit on women, the religious police say.

(AP Photo)

These are the people in your neighborhood

Local blogger Mark Forsythe recounts a trip to a Midtown Mickey D's, including a police bust. (My Mickey D's, actually!) Snip:

I can't even imagine how I would react to a bunch of serious-looking dudes aiming assault rifles at me. As the police put them both in ziptie handcuffs and moved them out of the way, all the police vehicles vanished as quickly as they had arrived. The whole thing went down in less than 30 seconds.

I backed out and got the hell out of there. Will I ever go back to that McDonald's? Sure! Just another day in midtown. That's just how I roll...

Hat Tip: Saw this via The KC Guy!

2nd conviction in Fat Tone homicide case

From the Las Vegas Review-Journal:

A jury convicted Jason Mathis of killing rapper Anthony "Fat Tone" Watkins, 24, and his friend Jermaine "Cowboy" Akins, 22, in Las Vegas. Prosecutors said Mathis and another San Francisco rapper, Andre "Mac Minister" Dow, 37, killed the victims in 2005 in revenge for an earlier slaying involving another California rapper.

Awful Ways To Die, No. 123: Beheaded on a Greyhound bus

Story is from Canada, where an 18-year-old man was fatally stabbed, then beheaded by his seatmate, a stranger with a large, Rambo-style knife, passengers said.

"I screamed 'stop the bus!' ... Everybody got the hell off, and people at the front of the bus didn't really understand what was going on. It almost turned into a trample scene there, everybody trying to get off the bus. But the guy didn't care at all. He wasn't concerned with anybody but the guy he was stabbing.

"The guy was totally calm. When he brought the head he looked at us and dropped it. It was like he was having a day at the beach. He couldn't be bothered by anything else."

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Ash and Shanski!

Mother of The Year?

In Nevada, a 1-year-old has tested positive for PCP. Here's why:

Police say Keshia Lyles smoked cigarettes laced with PCP, and then let her son eat the cigarette butts. Police say the little boy was getting the butts out of the car ashtray, but that the mother knew he was putting them in his mouth.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, JUNGLE JIM!

Open Thread ... Thursday (Friday Eve)

The Open Thread, our blog's space for off-topic comments, is up and running on a lovely Thursday. This is also a good spot to share links, if you've seen an interesting story somewhere else.

Please sign your comments, and please avoid profanity, as well as racially and sexually abusive language. And when you sign your comments, please use only one nickname. I read the OT, but if you need to contact me directly, my email is jhart@kcstar.com.

Thanks, and have a great Thursday!

Mega-Hat-Tip: Many thanks to our very own Keith G in PV for this morning's OT photo!

Senior citizen foils robber, narrowly avoids death

Lovely story from Oregon, where Art Iwasaki, 88 years young, woke up from a nap to find a robber pointing a gun at him. I am absolutely shocked that Art didn't end up catching one in the pumpkin.

That's because when the robber demanded money, Art pretended to have problems with his hearing aid. He got the robber to WRITE OUT HIS DEMAND, but then Art pretended he couldn't read the note because the words were too small. Art even drew his poor daughter into the scene, bringing her downstairs to meet the armed gunman.

At some point, Art also tried to fight the armed robber with his cane. The robber, apparently sick of all the work, left. Art even went to the door and watched him go, even though the robber warned him not to. Snip from the Oregonian:

Iwasaki's face broke into a broad grin as he recounted his resistance. "Afterward I thought what a stupid thing that was to do," he said.

"I've had rifles pointed at me, but never a pistol. I should have given him my wallet and told him to go."

Innocent after all?

In Alabama, the state's Supreme Court has postponed the execution of Thomas Arthur, 66, who was convicted of murder-for-hire 26 years ago. Another inmate now claims he was the killer. But the dead man's wife, who hired the hit, says she's never heard of this new guy. Arthur was supposed to be executed today.

UPDATE: David Liberty

Liberty is facing several child-porn charges in Platte County, but prosecutors also asking the public if anyone has ever been molested or attacked by Liberty. They're asking anyone with information to call the Western Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force tip Line at 816-858-1922.

Snip from the prosecutor's release:

Anderson said that over the past 18 months to two years, Liberty worked for a construction company in the Hills of Oakmont, Autumn Ridge, Bristol North, Grayhawk, Coves North, and Tiffany Lakes subdivisions as well as in the area of 71^st and North Wyandotte in Gladstone and 71^st and North Gower in Kansas City, North.

They've also dug up his criminal history:

According to court documents, Liberty was previously arrested in September 2001 for possession of child pornography.  At the time of his arrest, Liberty was wearing a diaper.  A search of his vehicle revealed four photographs of children with their genitals exposed, rope, bailing twine, scissors, a GI Joe doll, a Polaroid camera, and three pairs of women’s underwear. Liberty pled guilty to two counts of possession of child pornography in August 2002 and ultimately spent 180 days in the Platte County Jail.

Court documents also indicate that Liberty had once been detained by Kansas City police for running on a jogging track near Plaza Middle School in Platte County, wearing only a diaper and shoes.

Springfield's new crime lab

The News-Leader has an update on that city's still-under-construction lab. They're starting to reach out to neighboring counties and ask if they'll help fund it. This is a good thing, not just for them, but the entire state. Once the Springfield lab is up and running, they'll be able to process a lot of evidence from the southern part of the state, freeing up resources elsewhere.

Should inmates get free condoms?

California is trying out a program where inmates will have access to free condoms. The goal is to reduce the spread of STDs among the prison population. The guards aren't thrilled because (A) it's still illegal to have sex behind bars and (B) inmates will use the condoms to hide drugs or throw "stuff" at them.

OOPS: Forgot to mention -- a nonprofit group is bearing the cost of all this!

Murder in the Library

The Philly Inquirer has a really interesting story about the murder of Betsy Aardsma, a student who was fatally stabbed in Penn State's campus library almost 40 years ago. The case has never been solved, but it's attracted the attention of several amateur sleuths. One of them built a Web site about the case, whokilledbetsy.com. The amateurs have actually helped push the authorities to take a new look at the murder.

Here's a magazine article about the Aardsma murder.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, goshel!

The good news? He wasn't playing Solitaire

Temp worker accused of running prostitution ring from his desk.