Thugs can do this and get a caution

By LUCY CONNOLLY

Published: Today

THESE are the battered faces that shame justice - by proving it has gone soft on thugs.

In every case the victim was savagely beaten, bottled or even bitten.

But each attacker was let off with a slap on the wrist.

A TV probe to be shown next week reveals the scale on which offenders are being given cautions to unclog the courts - sparking accusations that it is justice on the cheap.

Scarred ... Dean's shocking wounds

The investigation by the BBC's Panorama found that last year 38,952 offenders received a caution for ABH - a charge that could carry a jail term of up to five years.

Half of all criminal cases brought to justice in England and Wales are now dealt with out of court.

Programme makers also found cases of GBH, burglary, child neglect, sexual assault and rape dealt with by cautions.

Monday's investigation highlights ex-air hostess Lauren Smith, who was battered at a party by a stranger who bit a chunk out of her arm.

Petite Lauren, 25, of Newcastle, said: "The police said it was ABH and I thought he'd go to prison. Then they told me he'd admitted everything and they were giving him a caution. I said, 'It's unacceptable. How can you give him a slap on the wrist?'"

Student Dean Martin was gouged in the face with a bottle in a pub toilet. He said: "I nearly fainted at the amount of blood I was losing."

The unprovoked attack left him needing 24 stitches - yet it was dealt with by a caution.

A third victim, John Guest, was beaten up in his own home - but his attacker got a conditional caution and was told to pay £200 compensation.

John said: "It cost more than £200 just to clean my carpets. It has left me feeling utterly disgusted."

It was only when John's case was reviewed by judges that the sentence was increased.

The Government insists cautions help unburden courts and free up cops to deal with more serious criminals.

But critics say it is driven by New Labour's target culture and the need to cut costs.

Assistant Chief Constable Chris Weigh, of the Association of Chief Police Officers, denied cautions were "a soft option", saying: "They are recorded on a criminal record."

Mind-blowing sex: American woman suffers amnesia after intercourse

An American woman suffered a sudden attack of amnesia after having sex with her husband.

By Tom Chivers

Published: 4:15PM GMT 06 Nov 2009

I'm sorry, have we met? Photo: GETTY

The sudden loss of memory, called “transient global amnesia” or TGA, is caused by pressure in blood vessels in the brain, and can be triggered by strenuous activities, bowel movements, or – commonly – sex.

The 59-year-old woman, known only as Alice, had the worrying experience after she and her husband Scott had sex last August. She suddenly, albeit temporarily, lost all memory of the last several years and the ability to form new memories.

After sex they turned on the television, which was showing the Beijing Olympics, and she asked: "Is there an Olympics?"

Scott told CNN: "I saw that something was wrong, so I asked her, 'OK, what day is it?'"

When she couldn’t answer, he asked her to name the current President, to which she replied: "Bill Clinton." Scott called an ambulance and she was taken to hospital, where it was initially thought she may have had a stroke.

However, neurologists were soon able to diagnose TGA, a relatively common experience in the over-50s.

Dr Louis Caplan, professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, said: "[Sex] is actually a well-known precipitator.

"One of the things people have done to look at transient global amnesia is to look at frequency of various precipitants and sex always comes out as one of the most common."

People with a history of migraines and severe headaches are more prone to TGA.

Although her memory has otherwise returned fully, Alice remains unable to remember the act of intercourse that triggered her attack. However, it is likely that she enjoyed herself.

Dr Caplan said: "It usually is after climax that [TGA] develops."

Muggers attack two-year-old girl

By STAFF REPORTER

Published: Today

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A TWO-YEAR-OLD girl was punched in the head by two teenage thugs during an attempted robbery.

The tot was with her mum when they were attacked by two female suspects in north-west London on Thursday.

They demanded cash from the mother before punching her and then hitting her young daughter.

The attackers are described as being of Mediterranean appearance and aged between 14 and 18.

Det Insp Rebecca Reeves, of the Metropolitan Police said: "Although the victim and her daughter do not have any visible injuries, this was a frightening experience for them.

"We have released these images in the hope that someone may recognise the suspects and report them to the police

California Dad Accused of Killing Baby Daughter, Driving Cross-Country With Body in Trash

Friday, November 06, 2009

RIVERSIDE, Calif. —  A man serving time for killing his infant son and trekking around the country with the child's body pleaded not guilty Friday to doing the same thing to his baby daughter.

Prosecutors contend that Jason Hann stuffed 2-month-old Montana Hann's corpse into a trash bag in 2001 then kept it in trailers and motorhomes for nine months as he and his girlfriend moved from state to state doing odd jobs.

The body was finally discovered in an Arkansas storage facility.

Hann, 34, pleaded not guilty in Indio Superior Court to murder and assaulting a child causing great bodily injury after being extradited from Kentucky, where he was serving time for killing his 6-week-old son 10 years ago.

Authorities said Hann had trekked around with the boy's body for 18 months.

Prosecutors in Riverside County were unsure if they would pursue the death penalty, district attorney's spokesman Michael Jeandron said.

It was unclear why it took so many years to bring charges against Hann in California involving the death of his daughter.

His attorney, Greg Johnson, said he had only been appointed by the court a day earlier and could not immediately comment.

Hann and the children's mother, Krissy Lynn Werntz, 29, were indicted by a Riverside County grand jury in September. Werntz previously pleaded not guilty.

The parents "should have been protecting them and nourishing them. It's a very sad case," Jeandron said.

A declaration in support of an arrest warrant said Hann told a Maine detective that he lost his temper and hit the girl in the head on Feb. 10, 2001, while the couple was living at a trailer park in Desert Hot Springs east of Los Angeles.

"Jason decided to keep Montana in a trash bag so they could keep her with them," according to the court declaration.

The couple eventually arrived in Arkansas and left the body in another trailer at a storage facility with the intent to return, the declaration said, citing Werntz.

The couple missed rental payments, however, and the managers sold their property. In February 2002, a man who bought the trailer found the girl's decomposed body wrapped in plastic bags, authorities said.

The couple was arrested two months later in Maine.

Hann told a Maine detective he was to blame for the death of his infant son Jason at a Shelburne, Vt., campground in 1999, the court declaration said.

"They kept the baby's remains inside a bowling ball bag and traveled the country with him for the next 18 months" before leaving it in a storage container in Lake Havasu, Ariz., when their daughter was born, according to the declaration.

In 2006, Hann pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Vermont and was sentenced to serve 27 to 30 years at a prison in Kentucky

Murder hunt launched after mother dies trying to save son from blaze after firework is pushed through letterbox

By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 12:32 PM on 07th November 2009

A murder inquiry has been launched into a fatal house fire which is thought to have been started when a firework was put through the letterbox.

Mary Fox, 59, became trapped in the house in Bodmin after pushing her teenage son to safety from an upstairs window on Thursday.

Her 17-year-old son, Raum, was taken to Treliske Hospital where he was treated for smoke inhalation and later released.

Devon and Cornwall Police warned the culprits today that they would be caught adding that a firework was found behind the front door and it had been pushed through the letterbox.

Devon and Cornwall Police said a firework was found behind the front door and it had been pushed through the letterbox.

Officers leading the investigation said they would be looking at concerns that Raum was being bullied at school.

Speaking at a press conference at Bodmin police station today, Superintendent Martin Orpe warned the people responsible for the firework attack that he was confident police would find them.

"As a result of a firework that was found late yesterday behind the door within the premises, and as a result of information from the public, this is being treated as a murder investigation," he said.

"I am appealing to those people involved in this to do the decent thing and come forward to the police.

"If not, I am confident from what I have seen that we will be knocking on their doors shortly.

"I would ask them to come forward, and anyone who knows fact in relation to this incident, not rumour, because there is a lot of rumour going around Bodmin, to come forward and give us that information."

Blaze: Mary Fox, 59, died after saving her bullied son Raum from a fire at their home. Neighbours said it was started by a firework shoved through the letterbox

Mr Orpe said police were "following up leads that the family were being targeted", but said the Fox family home was not an address known to police.

"This was not an address that we were called to a number of times and we do not have any evidence within police systems to corroborate that the family were being bullied and that this was reported to the police, but that is something that we will be looking at.

"We will be talking to partner agencies to tell us what they know about this family."

He added that police would be speaking to the school attended by Raum, who is reported to have learning difficulties, over allegations that he was being bullied.

Mr Orpe said: "The neighbours have picked it up from somewhere, that there may have been concerns that there was bullying of the boy at the school."

A passer-by spotted the front door of the house was on fire at about 7.15pm and alerted emergency services.

Crews arrived within six minutes but the fire had already taken hold.

Raum jumped from the upstairs bedroom where his mother's body was found by firefighters, two of whom were treated for heat exhaustion.

Eye-witnesses said Mrs Fox pushed her son to safety from the window but police said it was unclear whether Raum jumped or was pushed by his mother before she was overcome.

Raum then ran to a neighbour's house to call 999 and told them his mother was still inside the house.

He is being treated as a crucial witness and is being spoken to by specialist officers.

He is said to be very distressed and is staying with his family.

Police said there were many people around at the time the fire broke out attending a nearby organised bonfire and fireworks display.

Trapped: Undertakers carry out Mrs Fox's body after she died in the blaze. Her son Raum is being cared for by family

Reports that a gang of youths were seen around the area using fireworks were being investigated by a team of officers who would today be carrying out house to house inquiries.

Senior investigating officer DCI Paul Burgan said they were trying to identify the firework used in the attack.

"We are keeping an open mind at the moment, there are names being bandied around on social networking sites but this is innuendo, we need to deal with factual evidence and get the information direct," he said.

He appealed to those responsible to come forward sooner rather than later.

"I would say to them that if it was a harmless prank please come forward," he said.

"A lot of people will give us information and we will find those individuals responsible, so it would be in their interests to come forward at the earliest opportunity.

"In my opinion the key to solving this murder inquiry is within the community.

"I am sure that someone will have information for us, please come forward and let us decide whether the information is relevant."

Mr Orpe added: "There is a lot of innuendo but I think it will be a parent, a friend, a girlfriend or partner, someone out there knows the identity of the person responsible."

Officers will be manning Bodmin Police Station and the local neighbourhood centre over the weekend for members of the public to come forward with information.

Last night, neighbours said the blaze was started by a gang who had bullied Mrs Fox's son because of his mild learning difficulties.

It set fire to the hallway, trapping Mrs Fox and 17-year-old Raum upstairs.

The tragedy on Thursday recalls the case of Fiona Pilkington, who killed herself and her daughter Francecca, 18, after ten years of torment from a gang of local youths.

Francecca also suffered from learning disabilities.

As neighbours paid tribute to Mrs Fox, it emerged that her son recently changed schools because of the bullying.

Doreen Rowe, 59, her neighbour in Bodmin, Cornwall, said: 'Mary was a dear old soul and a hero.

'Her son survived because she pushed him out of the window but she got trapped by the fire.

'With it being Bonfire Night, there were loads of kids on the street armed with fireworks. Police have told us one of them has put one through Mary's letterbox.

'My husband saw a whole gang of youngsters carrying fireworks not long before it happened.

'I'm devastated. Mary was such a lovely lady. I used to be able to hear her singing from my garden sometimes  -  she had a beautiful voice.

'Fireworks should be completely banned to the public because they are extremely dangerous.'

Family friend Kerry Ollerenshaw, 36, a care worker, said: 'Her son had learning difficulties and the kids on this estate can be very harsh.

'They hang around in groups, harassing and intimidating. Raum was a victim of that.

'A gang had been letting off all sorts of bangers and rockets near their home for days. You could just sense something was going to happen.'

Brett Millington, 17, said: 'Raum was badly bullied. It wasn't all physical, he suffered a lot of psychological abuse.

'Kids would make fun of his bad acne and call him "spotty" and jeer at his greasy hair. Raum always kept himself to himself. He never socialised with anyone in or out of school.

'While he was still at Bodmin College, his mum would walk him to school every day because the bullying was so bad. But if anything, that just made it worse.'

Bullied: Fiona Pilkington killed herself and her disabled daughter Francecca, 18, after a decade of abuse from street thugs

Another neighbour added: 'She used to walk with him to school every morning and back again in the afternoon.

'Some of the kids used to take the mickey out him for getting an escort with his mum. He loved computers and was always playing his game console.'

Mrs Fox also had four grown-up daughters but neighbours said they knew nothing about Raum's father.

The teenager was treated for minor injuries at Bodmin Hospital and was being cared for by relatives last night.

Police said they are investigating the blaze and fire chiefs have confirmed they are looking at fireworks as a possible cause.

Devon and Cornwall Police said the investigation was being hampered by the extensive damage to the house 'but nothing has been ruled out'.

Steve Halstead, of Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, said: 'Crews arrived at the scene to find a severe fire. There were flames already visible from the windows.

'We were made aware that there was a person inside and crews made their way to the first floor, despite the severe fire and heat.

'Unfortunately the fire was fully developed and they found the casualty was already deceased.'

Sleepwalker Beaten After Men Find Him In Apartment

 Charges Filed Against Iowa Men Accused Of Beating A Sleepwalker After Finding Him In Apartment

(AP)  IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) - Charges have been filed against three men accused of beating a man who sleepwalks after they found him asleep in one of the men's apartment. Iowa City Police Sgt. Troy Kelsay said the 21-year-old victim who was not identified, suffered injuries over most of his body. Kelsay said the man's injuries did not appear to require hospitalization, but the victim was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Three men were charged with willfully causing bodily injury. According to a criminal complaint, the three found the man asleep in an apartment early on Aug. 30. The man was staying across the hall, but did not live in the complex.

Couple flee to save their unborn baby from social workers after girl, 17, is told she is not clever enough to look after her child

By Alison Smith Squire

Last updated at 12:03 PM on 07th November 2009

A heavily pregnant woman and her fiance have gone on the run after social workers threatened to take away their baby at birth.

Kerry Robertson, 17, and Mark McDougall, 25, had been told that she was not bright enough to raise their child and that they would have to give him up.

It was another blow for the couple, whose wedding this year was halted just 48 hours before the ceremony in a row over whether Miss Robertson was intelligent enough to marry.

Despair: Kerry Robertson is 29 weeks pregnant by Mark McDougall and the couple have already named the unborn child Ben. She 'out of her mind with worry'

Miss Robertson, who is 29 weeks pregnant, has since been told the couple will be allowed only a few hours with their baby - a boy they have already named Ben - before he is taken into care and placed with foster parents.

Desperate to keep their family together, the pair fled their home yesterday for a secret safe house.

Last night, Miss Robertson, who has mild learning difficulties, said: 'I have been out of my mind with worry about my unborn baby being taken away.

'Although Ben isn't born yet, I already love my baby and know I will be a good mum. Mark and I talk to him inside me every day and tell him we love him.

'We've already bought him clothes and my cousin, who recently had a baby, has handed down a beautiful crib for him.

'But social workers aren't even giving me a chance to be a mum. It's as if social workers are trying to rule my life and I just couldn't take the pressure from them any more.'

Mr McDougall, an artist, said they had made their decision after seeing minutes of a meeting this week where social workers claimed their baby could suffer 'emotional harm' if left with Miss Robertson - an allegation they say is 'ridiculous'.

He said: 'It was clear to Kerry and I that although social workers recently appeared to backtrack, telling us they would not make any decision about our baby until he is born, the truth is they intend to take him away. Kerry was in pieces.

'She is pregnant with her first baby so we don't see how, before he is even here, social workers can say she won't be a good parent. The pressure that social workers have been putting both of us under is huge.

'When Kerry found out she was pregnant, a care worker mentioned she might not be able to keep the baby but we never believed they would do something as cruel as to take him away.

'We are constantly lying awake at night worrying what the next day will bring.

'Not only am I extremely angry and upset about the way we've been treated, I have become worried for Kerry's and our unborn baby's health. I defy anyone to put up with what we've had to put up with.'

The couple, who left their home in Fife, Scotland, after a leaving party for friends and family, say they do not know how long it will be before they can return.

A family law expert said: 'If Miss Robertson gave birth in Fife and then fled with the baby, after the local authority had got a care order, she would be liable for child abduction.

'But by fleeing while pregnant, Miss Robertson has not broken any law, as far as I'm aware.

'If she has her baby outside the jurisdiction of Fife council, they no longer have any power to take the child into care.

'Rather, they would have to locate her and alert the relevant council who would have to apply for a removal order themselves.'

Miss Robertson has been in the care of her grandmother since she was nine months old after her parents were unable to care for her, with her welfare overseen by social workers at Fife Council.

She and Mr McDougall decided to marry after she became pregnant. But in a highly unusual step, Dunfermline Register Office refused to sanction the marriage after Fife Council wrote a letter of objection.

Under British law, a registrar can refuse to marry a couple if he believes one or both parties lack the mental capacity to understand what marriage is about.

Their case has been referred to the European Human Rights Commission, which is investigating whether Fife has broken human rights laws.

Mr McDougall said: 'Kerry and I always wanted our baby to be born to married parents and we are still hoping to get married.

'We have also offered to go to parenting classes and have a lot of support from family and friends. We feel if Fife really wanted to help us they would allow us to get married.'

Wyoming Hunter Bags Deer, Then Hungry Lion

Wyoming Archer Bags Deer, Then Mountain Lion, When Big Cat Stakes Claim On Kill

(AP)  SHERIDAN, Wyo. (AP) - Retired orthopedic surgeon Chris Smith thought his hunt was over when he bagged a white tail deer with a bow and arrow near Sheridan. Because the light was fading, he decided to return the next day to recover the deer. But when he returned Wednesday morning, the carcass had been covered by grass and bush - which is what mountain lions typically do.

Smith, who was unarmed, then saw the big cat about 25 yards away.

He backed away slowly and went to call the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. Officials said he had two choices - return with friends, making noise to scare the animal away, or purchase a mountain lion hunting license.

He opted for the license, and dropped the lion in one shot.

Saudi man beheaded for murder

Agence France-Presse

November 07, 2009 07:55pm

A SAUDI man was beheaded by the sword in the western region of Mecca after being convicted of murdering a compatriot, the interior ministry said.

Hasan bin Ahmed al-Qarni was found guilty of running over Mohammed bin Hasan bin Ali al-Qarni with his car and then shooting him several times with a pistol over a land dispute, the ministry said in a statement carried by SPA state news agency.

The beheading took to 60 the number of executions in Saudi Arabia this year. Last year, Saudi Arabia put 102 people to death.

Capital punishment can be imposed for the crimes of rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking under the ultra-conservative kingdom's strict Islamic sharia laws.

New Jersey Jury Doesn't Buy 'Too Fat to Kill' Defense

Friday, November 06, 2009

HACKENSACK, N.J.  —  A New Jersey jury has rejected a Florida man's claims that he was too fat to kill and has convicted him of murdering his former son-in-law.

Edward Ates said he didn't have the energy to accurately shoot his former son-in-law and escape to Louisiana.

The 62-year-old was 285 pounds when Paul Duncsak was killed in 2006.

Prosecutors said Ates drove from Florida to Duncsak's home in Ramsey, New Jersey, climbed a staircase and shot the 40-year-old.

The victim and Ates' daughter were involved in a bitter custody dispute after their divorce.

Ates testified that he had no reason to want Duncsak dead and couldn't make such a drive that quick because of his weight.

The jury of eight women and four men reached the verdict on its second day of deliberations after a trial that lasted more than a month.

Fraternity Steals 10,000 Free Newspapers to Keep People From Reading Date-Rape Drug Story, UA Student Newspaper Alleges

By James King in Media, Schmedia, News

Wed., Nov. 4 2009 @ 4:26PM

?Last month, about 10,000 copies of the University of Arizona's student newspaper were stolen from various newsstands across the university. They were found the next day, dumped in various locations on the outskirts of the campus.

You may be wondering "why the hell would anyone steal 10,000 free student newspapers?" If you ask the editorial staff at the Daily Wildcat, it was to keep people from reading about the latest fraternity date-rape story.

Tim McDonnell, News Editor for the Wildcat, claims that members of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity at U of A sent at least two "pledges" to steal as many papers as possible to keep people from reading an article in the paper's "Police Beat."

The article, according to McDonnell, was about a girl who filed a police report saying she had been drugged at a Phi Kappa Psi party and thought she may have been raped while she was blacked out.

McDonnell says the reason the Wildcat was able to link the theft to the fraternity can be explained by watching the Coen Brothers classic film The Big Lebowski.

When a stash of the papers was found, McDonnell says the homework of PKP pledges Nick Kovalski and Alex Cornell were found too.

"Is this your homework Larry?"

The fraternity has neither confirmed or denied involvement, so we called PKP President Keith Peters to find out if two "pledges" were really dumb enough to steal 10,000 free newspapers and then leave their homework with the stolen stash -- the conversation didn't exactly go well.

Peters said he couldn't talk because he was walking across campus at the moment, so we asked him to call us back when he had a chance.

"Yeah, we'll see about that," he said.

"See about what?" we asked.

"If I feel like giving you a call back later."

Easy, junior -- we just wanted your side of the story.

According to McDonnell, the U of A Police Department hasn't been much help and closed the case without questioning anyone a few weeks ago.

McDonnell says he doesn't think campus police were taking the case seriously because the newspapers are free and the cops aren't sure if a crime was committed.

Calls to U of A police were not immediately returned this afternoon.

McDonnell says the theft cost U of A's student media department about $8,500, and the paper was forced to run free ads for businesses that bought space in the stolen papers.

The university is holding a session of the Greek Standards Board tonight, to see what, if any, disciplinary action can be taken against the fraternity.

Sounds like a little Dean Wormer "double secret probation" might be in the works.

"This was clearly an attempt to silence the media," McDonnell says. "We have good evidence that they did this, and we want some justice."

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