National Roundup

North Carolina Stepmom pleads guilty in disabled girl's death NEWTON, N.C. (AP) -- A North Carolina woman has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the death of her disabled 10-year-old daughter, Zahra Baker. Elisa Baker entered a plea of guilty Thursday to second degree murder, nearly a year after the Australian girl was reported missing from her home in the western North Carolina town of Hickory. Baker also pleaded guilty in Catawba County Superior Court to obstruction of justice, and to charges unrelated to Zahra. Parts of Zahra's remains were found in multiple sites around Hickory shortly after her reported disappearance. The case captivated the attention of communities here and in Australia. Her father moved to the United States to marry Elisa after the two met online. Zahra had a prosthetic leg and hearing aids after an early battle with bone cancer. Rhode Island Cop goes undercover on pizza delivery robberies NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) -- Rhode Island police say two suspects picked the wrong pizza delivery guy to rob: An undercover police officer. The Providence Journal reports that a 30-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy were arrested in Newport on Tuesday night after they approached the officer. Police say one of the suspects had a BB gun in his waistband. Two delivery drivers were robbed in the same area earlier this month. Police had asked restaurants to call if they received delivery orders for the neighborhood. A-1 Pizza received the call Tuesday and notified police, who sent the officer in place of the usual driver. Lt. William Fitzgerald says the suspects were "quite shocked" to discover the delivery man was actually an officer. New York Mom admits stealing son's cancer benefit money BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- An upstate New York woman has admitted to gambling away thousands of dollars raised to help her son fight cancer. The Buffalo News reports that 46-year-old Sherry Holcomb of Cortland pleaded guilty Wednesday in state Supreme Court to a felony count of scheme to defraud. The newspaper reports that Holcomb confessed to losing $15,000 of her son's benefit money while gambling at casinos in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Canada. Prosecutors say the money had been raised for her 21-year-old son, Ryan O'Donnell, who's being treated for leukemia. She faces up to four years in prison when she's sentenced Nov. 16. California Suits claim officials conceal child death records LOS ANGELES (AP) -- California and Los Angeles County child welfare agencies are being sued for allegedly concealing information about children who died under their supervision. The Los Angeles Times sued the county Department of Children and Family Services on Wednesday. The suits claims the agency is violating a 2008 law requiring it to make records public when a child dies after passing through the system. Meanwhile, child advocates on Wednesday sued the California Department of Social Services in a San Diego court. The Children's Advocacy Institute alleges that state rules improperly obstruct disclosure of key documents in cases where children die. Wisconsin Freedom From Religion Foundation takes on tax law MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation wants a federal tax provision that allows church ministers tax breaks on money spent on housing declared unconstitutional. The Wisconsin State Journal reports the Madison-based organization filed a lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Madison. It claims the provision violates the Constitutional provision separating church and state. The foundation is challenging the constitutionality of Section 107 of the Internal Revenue Code that allows "ministers of the gospel" to exempt the costs of homeownership or rent from their income. John Witte is director of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University in Atlanta. He expects the case to gain little traction since the Supreme Court has said tax exemption cases are for the legislature, not the courts. Mississippi Judge finds Trustmark at fault in lawsuit JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- A Hinds County judge has ruled that Trustmark National Bank should not have allowed a Jackson woman to take $1.7 million from trust accounts over six years. Chancery Judge Denise Owens ruled Trustmark failed its duty when it allowed Dee Farrell to take the money from the trust accounts 150 times. Owens' ruling came in a lawsuit Meg Weidner filed against Trustmark, accusing the bank of allowing Farrell, her mother, to loot the trust accounts. The Clarion -Ledger reports that Owens this week ordered Trustmark to restore the amount to the trust and pay $100,000 in punitive damages along with legal fees to Weidner's attorneys. T. Harris Collier III, Trustmark's general counsel, said in a statement the bank is reviewing Owens' opinion "and considering all of our options." Louisiana Plea deal child sex case: 4 years instead of life HOUMA, La. (AP) -- A Houma man has pleaded guilty to multiple counts of sexual battery, drawing a four-year prison sentence while avoiding a trial that could have put him in prison for life. The Courier reports (http://bit.ly/pECtvT) the case involved young victims related to the suspect. Forty-one-year-old Mitchell Courteaux was arrested in September 2009 and accused of having sexual contact with three girls, all relatives, multiple times in 2002. He was indicted in October 2009 on one count of aggravated rape, which carries a mandatory life sentence, and three counts of sexual battery. Jury selection for the trial was set to begin Tuesday morning, but Courteaux pleaded guilty to four counts sexual battery instead. Assistant District Attorney Bud Barnes said the deal was intended to spare the victims from having to testify. The victims were ages 4-10 at the time of the abuse. "They wanted to avoid court if at all possible," Barnes said of the three, who are now teenagers. Judge George Large sentenced Courteaux to four years in prison, with credit for time served at the Terrebonne Parish jail since his 2009 arrest. Courteaux will have to register as a sex offender following his release and provide details of his whereabouts for the next 25 years, the judge ruled. Published: Fri, Sep 16, 2011