Wisconsin
Sheriff: 10-year-old says she stomped head of baby in panic
CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. (AP) - A 10-year-old girl charged with first-degree intentional homicide in the death of a 6-month-old baby told investigators that she panicked after dropping the infant, and stomped on the child's head to stop the crying, according to a sheriff in western Wisconsin.
Handcuffed and wearing a leather restraint around her waist, the girl sobbed as she appeared in Chippewa County Circuit Court on Monday. A judge set bond at $50,000. State law requires the case, at least initially, to be held in adult court, according to prosecutors.
First responders were called Oct. 30 to a licensed home day care in the Town of Tilden near Chippewa Falls. The baby was found to be unresponsive and bleeding from the head, according to officials.
The baby was rushed to HSHS St. Joseph's Hospital in Chippewa Falls, then airlifted to Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare hospital in St. Paul where he died Nov. 1.
Chippewa County Sheriff James Kowalczyk said a doctor called his office to inform investigators that it was his belief the baby's injuries were not an accident. Investigators interviewed four people at the home and the girl, who lives with foster parents at the house, "confessed to her involvement in the situation," Kowalczyk said.
According to the sheriff, the girl said she dropped the infant, hitting his head on a footstool and causing the baby to cry. The girl told investigators that she panicked and stomped on the child's head, Kowalczyk said.
The girl's biological parents were with her in court. Authorities said she had been removed from their home in September and placed in foster care. The reasons for her removal have not been disclosed.
Defense attorney Kirby Harless asked for a smaller bond, saying there was no reason to believe the girl wouldn't appear for future court proceedings.
"She would like to return home, and given her age, that may be appropriate," Harless said.
Washington
Man who fell onto train tracks sues eatery that served booze
WASHINGTON (AP) - A man who fell onto Metro train tracks in the nation's capital is suing a restaurant that he says served him too much alcohol.
News outlets report Patrick Augusma is suing Maggiano's Little Italy for negligence. He says it's the eatery's fault that he suffered facial fractures and head trauma when he fell last year. The $2 million lawsuit filed last week says Maggiano's served Augusma drinks even though he "visibly appeared to be intoxicated."
Augusma's attorney, Keith Watters, is requesting a jury trial.
WRC-TV says the restaurant hasn't responded to requests for comment.
New York
Family thinks bones under home are long-missing father
LAKE GROVE, N.Y. (AP) - A New York family says they've found human bones beneath their basement, and they believe the remains are those of their patriarch who disappeared half a century ago.
Steven Carroll, 61, and his brother Michael Carroll, 57, said their family had tried just about everything to find out what happened to their father, George Carroll, who disappeared in 1961.
The missing man's wife, Dorothy Carroll, who died in 1998, had only told her children that "he went out and just never came back," Michael Carroll told Newsday .
Michael Carroll had bought the house, located in the village of Lake Grove, from his mother in the 1980s. He started excavating a few years ago, in hopes of solving the mystery, but stopped, fearing structural damage.
A sister summoned paranormal investigators, who said there was an "energy" in the home, he said. Other people, including a psychic, felt that George Carroll was somewhere in the basement.
Ground-penetrating radar indicated there was something about 5 feet below the surface.
Michael Carroll's adult sons started their own digging a few months ago. They say they found the bones on Tuesday night.
Investigators will use dental records, if available, and DNA testing in an effort to confirm whether the bones are George Carroll's. That could take months, Suffolk County Chief of Detectives Gerard Gigante said on Thursday. Police don't think Carroll was ever reported missing, but they're scouring old records.
The family may never know how he died, said Steven Carroll, but "...if it is George Carroll, we can now give him a proper burial."
California
$76K raised for teacher who punched student
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Community members have raised more than $76,000 for a Los Angeles-area teacher captured on video punching a student who had repeatedly called him a racial slur and other names.
A Gofundme page had raised $76,700 by Tuesday for Marston Riley, a music teacher at Maywood Academy High School.
Video posted to social media shows Riley, who is black, repeatedly hitting the student, who returns some of the blows. Before the scuffle, the video showed the student throwing a basketball at the 64-year-old Riley and repeatedly calling him names.
The student was treated for minor injuries, and Riley was released on bond after being arrested on suspicion of child abuse.
The school district said Monday that administrators have met with students, staff and parents "to begin the healing process."
Iowa
Sioux City adopts ordinance banning toy firearms
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) - City officials in northwest Iowa have voted to bar people from carrying "toy" firearms, which police say are becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish from actual guns.
The Sioux City Council on Monday adopted an ordinance banning pellet and BB guns. The city code revision doesn't ban carrying Nerf, suction-cup dart or squirt guns.
Sioux City Police Capt. Mark Kirkpatrick says officers have had multiple encounters with replica weapons, facing the question of whether to use deadly force.
The police department says that while no one in the city has died from a police encounter while carrying a toy firearm, there are more than 50 such deaths nationwide each year.
Assistant City Attorney Caleb Christopherson says officials will consider how the toy firearm is being used before issuing a misdemeanor violation.
Published: Wed, Nov 07, 2018
