New York
Trial of Rushdie’s assailant will remain in county where stabbing happened
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — An appellate court on Friday denied a request to move the trial of the New Jersey man charged with attacking author Salman Rushdie with a knife in 2022, clearing the way for the trial to move forward in the western New York county where the stabbing occurred.
Hadi Matar’s trial was put on hold days before the scheduled Oct. 15 start of jury selection, pending a decision by the Rochester court. A new trial date was not immediately set.
Matar’s attorney, Nathaniel Barone, argued that Matar would not receive a fair trial in Chautauqua County because of extensive publicity and the lack of an Arab American community in the county whose population is 93% white. District Attorney Jason Schmidt opposed the move.
Matar, 26, is accused of running onto the stage at the Chautauqua Institution as Rushdie was about to speak and stabbing him more than a dozen times until being subdued by onlookers.
The “Satanic Verses” author was severely injured, including being blinded in one eye. The event’s moderator, Henry Reese, was also wounded.
Matar has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and assault.
He also has pleaded not guilty to related terrorism charges in U.S. District Court in Buffalo.
Florida
Woman charged in death of baby found in trash can
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A former Florida college student is facing several charges in the death of her newborn infant, whose body was found wrapped in a towel in a trash can.
Investigators said Friday that Brianna Moore, 19, is charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child, child neglect with great bodily harm and two other counts. State Attorney Suzy Lopez said in a news release that Moore was arrested in her home state of Mississippi and will be extradited to Florida.
Prosecutors say Moore’s roommates heard a baby crying in their University of Tampa residence hall the night of April 27 and found blood in their shared bathroom. Campus security was summoned and Moore told them the blood was from menstruation, Lopez said.
Moore’s roommates called police again the next day after finding a bloody towel in a trash can and officers discovered the infant’s body wrapped in the towel.
Florida’s Safe Haven law allows parents to anonymously surrender unwanted infants up to 30 days after birth with no questions asked. A parent who has just given birth can surrender a child to medical staff at a hospital or any fire station.
Pennsylvania
Two arrested after 200 minks are released from farm
SUNBURY, Pa. (AP) — Two people are facing charges following the release of about 200 minks from cages at a central Pennsylvania fur farm.
Most of the animals were recovered, according to an official, unlike a similar incident just over a year ago in which thousands of mink were released into the surrounding area.
State police in Northumberland County say troopers were called shortly before 1 a.m. Saturday after a report that two people had been caught on camera releasing the minks at the Richard H. Stahl Sons Inc. farm in Rockefeller Township outside of Sunbury.
Two Massachusetts residents were arrested on charges of agricultural vandalism, criminal mischief involving property damage, theft, burglary, trespass and animal cruelty. They were taken to the county jail. The News Item of Shamokin reported that a magisterial district judge set $150,000 cash bail for each and a preliminary hearing was scheduled for Oct. 29.
In September 2023, thousands of minks were released from the farm after holes were cut in the fence surrounding it. Police said they were told that about 6,000 to 8,000 minks were released from their pens in the incident.
This time, a perimeter fence kept most, if not all, of the mink on the property, Challis Hobbs of the Fur Commission USA told PennLive.com. Security cameras installed after the 2023 release allowed prompt police notification, Hobbs said.
The commission called the arrests “a major win for farmers targeted by extremist groups.”
Farmed mink that are released usually die within 24 to 48 hours due to starvation, predation or accidents such as being struck by vehicles, Hobbs said.
Pennsylvania
Woman sentenced to life in deaths of 2 young children
READING, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania woman has been sentenced to two life terms without parole on murder convictions in the deaths of her two young children, who were found hanging in the basement of their home five years ago.
Lisa Snyder, 41, was convicted last month of two counts of first-degree murder in the September 2019 deaths of 4-year-old Brinley and 8-year-old Conner, who were taken off life support and died three days after they were found in the home in Albany Township, about 60 miles (95 kilometers) northwest of Philadelphia.
Snyder displayed no reaction during Thursday’s hearing in Berks County and spoke only to decline to address the court, the Reading Eagle reported. President Judge Theresa Johnson, who also imposed another 8 1/2 to 17 years on child endangerment and evidence-tampering convictions, called the crime the most violent murder she had seen in her time on the bench and also said the defendant had never shown any remorse.
Owen Snyder, 22, the older brother of the slain youngsters who was 17 at the time of their deaths, called the defendant a “monster” he no longer considered his mother. He said they will never get a chance to be an aunt and uncle to his newborn son and he will never be able to see the people they would have become.
“If I could turn back time I would, just to hear their voices,” he said.
Snyder had told police her son was bullied and had threatened to take his life, but authorities said they found no evidence to support her claim. The boy displayed no signs of trouble that day on a school bus security video. An occupational therapist later said the child wasn’t physically capable of causing that kind of harm to himself or his little sister.
Police also cited the defendant’s online searches for information about suicide, death by hanging and how to kill someone as well as episodes of a documentary crime series called “I Almost Got Away With It.” A coroner said both children were killed by hanging and ruled the deaths homicides.
The defense had unsuccessfully sought an acquittal, saying the case was based on speculation and “guesswork.” Snyder had sought to plead no contest but mentally ill to third-degree murder, but the judge rejected the plea agreement.
Trial of Rushdie’s assailant will remain in county where stabbing happened
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — An appellate court on Friday denied a request to move the trial of the New Jersey man charged with attacking author Salman Rushdie with a knife in 2022, clearing the way for the trial to move forward in the western New York county where the stabbing occurred.
Hadi Matar’s trial was put on hold days before the scheduled Oct. 15 start of jury selection, pending a decision by the Rochester court. A new trial date was not immediately set.
Matar’s attorney, Nathaniel Barone, argued that Matar would not receive a fair trial in Chautauqua County because of extensive publicity and the lack of an Arab American community in the county whose population is 93% white. District Attorney Jason Schmidt opposed the move.
Matar, 26, is accused of running onto the stage at the Chautauqua Institution as Rushdie was about to speak and stabbing him more than a dozen times until being subdued by onlookers.
The “Satanic Verses” author was severely injured, including being blinded in one eye. The event’s moderator, Henry Reese, was also wounded.
Matar has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and assault.
He also has pleaded not guilty to related terrorism charges in U.S. District Court in Buffalo.
Florida
Woman charged in death of baby found in trash can
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A former Florida college student is facing several charges in the death of her newborn infant, whose body was found wrapped in a towel in a trash can.
Investigators said Friday that Brianna Moore, 19, is charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child, child neglect with great bodily harm and two other counts. State Attorney Suzy Lopez said in a news release that Moore was arrested in her home state of Mississippi and will be extradited to Florida.
Prosecutors say Moore’s roommates heard a baby crying in their University of Tampa residence hall the night of April 27 and found blood in their shared bathroom. Campus security was summoned and Moore told them the blood was from menstruation, Lopez said.
Moore’s roommates called police again the next day after finding a bloody towel in a trash can and officers discovered the infant’s body wrapped in the towel.
Florida’s Safe Haven law allows parents to anonymously surrender unwanted infants up to 30 days after birth with no questions asked. A parent who has just given birth can surrender a child to medical staff at a hospital or any fire station.
Pennsylvania
Two arrested after 200 minks are released from farm
SUNBURY, Pa. (AP) — Two people are facing charges following the release of about 200 minks from cages at a central Pennsylvania fur farm.
Most of the animals were recovered, according to an official, unlike a similar incident just over a year ago in which thousands of mink were released into the surrounding area.
State police in Northumberland County say troopers were called shortly before 1 a.m. Saturday after a report that two people had been caught on camera releasing the minks at the Richard H. Stahl Sons Inc. farm in Rockefeller Township outside of Sunbury.
Two Massachusetts residents were arrested on charges of agricultural vandalism, criminal mischief involving property damage, theft, burglary, trespass and animal cruelty. They were taken to the county jail. The News Item of Shamokin reported that a magisterial district judge set $150,000 cash bail for each and a preliminary hearing was scheduled for Oct. 29.
In September 2023, thousands of minks were released from the farm after holes were cut in the fence surrounding it. Police said they were told that about 6,000 to 8,000 minks were released from their pens in the incident.
This time, a perimeter fence kept most, if not all, of the mink on the property, Challis Hobbs of the Fur Commission USA told PennLive.com. Security cameras installed after the 2023 release allowed prompt police notification, Hobbs said.
The commission called the arrests “a major win for farmers targeted by extremist groups.”
Farmed mink that are released usually die within 24 to 48 hours due to starvation, predation or accidents such as being struck by vehicles, Hobbs said.
Pennsylvania
Woman sentenced to life in deaths of 2 young children
READING, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania woman has been sentenced to two life terms without parole on murder convictions in the deaths of her two young children, who were found hanging in the basement of their home five years ago.
Lisa Snyder, 41, was convicted last month of two counts of first-degree murder in the September 2019 deaths of 4-year-old Brinley and 8-year-old Conner, who were taken off life support and died three days after they were found in the home in Albany Township, about 60 miles (95 kilometers) northwest of Philadelphia.
Snyder displayed no reaction during Thursday’s hearing in Berks County and spoke only to decline to address the court, the Reading Eagle reported. President Judge Theresa Johnson, who also imposed another 8 1/2 to 17 years on child endangerment and evidence-tampering convictions, called the crime the most violent murder she had seen in her time on the bench and also said the defendant had never shown any remorse.
Owen Snyder, 22, the older brother of the slain youngsters who was 17 at the time of their deaths, called the defendant a “monster” he no longer considered his mother. He said they will never get a chance to be an aunt and uncle to his newborn son and he will never be able to see the people they would have become.
“If I could turn back time I would, just to hear their voices,” he said.
Snyder had told police her son was bullied and had threatened to take his life, but authorities said they found no evidence to support her claim. The boy displayed no signs of trouble that day on a school bus security video. An occupational therapist later said the child wasn’t physically capable of causing that kind of harm to himself or his little sister.
Police also cited the defendant’s online searches for information about suicide, death by hanging and how to kill someone as well as episodes of a documentary crime series called “I Almost Got Away With It.” A coroner said both children were killed by hanging and ruled the deaths homicides.
The defense had unsuccessfully sought an acquittal, saying the case was based on speculation and “guesswork.” Snyder had sought to plead no contest but mentally ill to third-degree murder, but the judge rejected the plea agreement.
