Man who fled to India in convicted in family slaying, faces life
PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — A man who fled to India after the 2008 slayings of his wife and two children in their suburban Detroit home has been convicted of first-degree murder in their deaths.
An Oakland Circuit Court jury returned the verdict on Thursday in the case of Lakshminivasa Nerusu, who was arrested in February 2013.
He testified during the trial that he didn’t remember what happened the day of the killings and must have been insane. He faces mandatory life in prison without parole when sentenced.
Thirty-seven-year-old Jayalakshmi Nerusu, the couple’s 14-year-old daughter Tejasvi and their 12-year-old son Siva, were killed Oct. 13, 2008. Police in Novi checking on the family’s welfare found their bludgeoned bodies two weeks later.
Authorities say domestic problems preceded the deaths.
Court scratches 45-year sentence in bank robberies
DETROIT (AP) — An appeals court has thrown out a 45-year prison sentence for a man who was convicted of directing a drug addict to rob four Detroit-area banks.
The court says a judge didn’t explain why Arthur Payton deserved a sentence that was well beyond the guidelines of 17 to 22 years. The case is returning to Port Huron federal court.
The robberies occurred in Wayne and Oakland counties in 2011. The woman who carried out the robberies says she was dropped off near banks and told to pass a threatening note to the teller.
It was the third time since the 1990s that Payton had been convicted of bank robbery. Federal prosecutor Doug Salzenstein warned that the 46-year-old Payton “cannot stop and will not stop” robbing banks.
Michigan Supreme Court limits liability in horse-car crash
PETOSKEY, Mich. (AP) — The owners of a farm aren’t liable in a fatal wreck involving a driver whose car hit a horse on the loose in northern Michigan.
Robert and Marilyn Truman own the property in Emmet County’s Friendship Township, but they don’t operate the horse farm. The Michigan Supreme Court says it’s an important distinction in a lawsuit filed by the family of Terri Sholberg.
Sholberg died in 2010 after her car hit a horse standing in the road. The horse was behind a gate, but the gate was closed only with baling twine.
The Supreme Court this week says owners of real estate can’t be held liable for a public nuisance when someone else controls the property and creates the nuisance.
WSU alumni mixer
WSU Alumni Association will hold their Young Alumni Professionals Mixer from 4-6 p.m. on Wednesday, June 18, at the Emagine Theater, 200 N. Main St. in Royal Oak.
For more information, contact Brandy Dona at 313-577-6199 or brandy.dona@wayne.edu.
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