$12,000 Reward for Anthony Sowell

Cleveland police are on the hunt for convicted sex offender Anthony Sowell. This is after they found 6 badly decomposed bodies in Anthony Sowell's home on Imperial Avenue. According to reports, the find came after officers went to the home of Anthony Sowell with a search warrant for 50-year-old Anothony Sowell's home. Police say when they went inside the home of Anthony Sowell on Thursday, they discovered two badly decomposed bodies on the third floor.

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Following their find, Clevland Police continued to dig through and under the home of Anthony Sowell. Police tell Fox 8 News a third body was discovered Friday afternoon in a shallow grave in the basement of the home. According to police, the most recent remains were found in the backyard, and inside the home of Anothony Sowell. Investigators in the Anthony Sowell case say they plan to continue searching the home for more evidence. At this time, Clevland Police have found the remains of six people both inside and outside Anothony Sowell's Clevland home.

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Anthony Sowell is wanted in connection for an alleged sexual attack which happened back in September. Anthony Sowell is a 6 foot tall 155 pound black male. Anthony Sowell wears eyeglasses and frequently has a mustache. According to Clevland Police files, Anthony Sowell spent 15 years in prison for rape starting back in 1989. According to Police, Anthony Sowell does not drive a car and is known to make money as a scap metal collecting binner. The Cleveland Police Department is offering a $12,000 reward for information leading to the capture of Anthony Sowell. Anyone with information the whereabouts of Anthony Sowell is asked to contact US Marshals Service Fugitive hotline at 1-866-4-WANTED.

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YALE KILLER of ANNIE LE may be Lab Technician

Police investigating the Yale Murder of Annie Le to a Lab Technician who is now suspected of being the YALE KILLER.

When Annie Le disapeared last week, authorities dismissed it as a voluntary thing.

Recent YALE KILLER Victim, ANNIE LE

This was until Yale Video Surveillance showed Annie Le entering a building but not leaving. Police then brought in search dogs and the Murdered Body of Annie Le was found in a cable chase.

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So far, the evidence pointing towards the Lab Technician as the Yale Killer are the filaing of a polygraph test and defensive wounds on his chest. Police are hoping the bloddied clothing found in the ceiling of the building lead them to the identity of the Yale Killer responsible for the Murder of Yale Student Annie Le.

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Suzanne Jovin - Victim of 1998 YALE STABBING MURDER

There has been no indication of a connection between the murder of Annie Le and the 1998 Murder of 21 year old Suzanne Jovin. Initialliy, Suzanne Jovin's thesis advisor, James Van de Velde was suspected as the Yale Killer of 1998, however, he was subsequently removed as a suspect and awarded $80,000 by the University for being expelled as a result of the investigation into the, yet unsolved, murder of Suzanne Jovin.

Some stupid reporters decided to take it up themselves to contact the Father of Suzanne Jovin, with regard to this recent Yale Murder and the Yale Murder of his daughter. Of course, he refused to comment.

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Ryan Jenkins Died of Apparent Suicide

Ryan Jenkins, reality TV show "star" and key suspect in murder of Jasmine Fiore has been found dead in the Thunderbird Motel just outside of Vancouver British Columbia, Canada. Ryan Jenkins apparently died as a result of suicide and was found hanging from his neck in the Hope, BC Motel.

Police found Ryan Jenkins' body hanging
from a rope at the Thunderbird Motel. Jenkins
died of an apparent suicide

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At this time, the District Attorney in Orange County CA is not planning on charging anyone else with the murder of Playboy Model Jasmine Fiore, as Ryan Jenkins was their sole suspect.

Jasmine Fiore was found murdered on August 15th, 2009, the day after she had been reported missing by Ryan Jenkins. Jasmine Fiore's mutilated body was found stuffed in a suitcase which was thrown into the garbage. Immediately after the body of Jasmine Fiore was found, Ryan Jenkins disapeared.

The Internet has been flooded with searches with regard to Jasmine Fiore, her playboy pictures, pictures of her body as well as various Reality TV based searches on Ryan Jenkins.

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RCMP Sgt. Duncan Pound indicated staff at the Thunderbird Hotel, in Hope BC, entered Ryan Jenkins' room and found the body. At around 5PM PST, local Police confirmed the identification of the body as that of Ryan Jenkins.


“At this present time the investigation into the circumstances of his death is continuing, but preliminary evidence suggests he took his own life,” Pound said in a news conference held in Surrey, BC, about 1 1/2 Hours from Hope.

Pound would not say how long Jenkins stayed at the hotel or how he got there. “Any further details will not be released at this time as this investigation remains in its infancy,”

Ryan Jenkins - Key
suspect in Murder of
Jasmine Fiore, now dead

Related Links

The Hunt for Jasmine Fiore's Killer

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Hunt for Jasmine Fiore Playboy Model's Killer

This is a rather disturbing story, Playboy model Jasmine Fiore was reported missing on Friday by her Ryan Alexander Jenkins. On Saturday morning, Jasmine Fiore's body was found dead. Apparently, Playboy model Jasmine Fiore was choked to death and then stuffed in a suitcase

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Jasmine Fiore met her reality show husband at a strip club in Los Angeles. Since police found Jasmine Fiore's body, authorities have been unable to locate Jenkins for questioning with regard to the murder of his Playboy model wife, Jasmine Fiore.

Since the announcement of the murder of Playboy model Jasmine Fiore, there has been a flurry of Internet search activity around the key phrases Jasmine Fiore Playboy Pictures. Although slightly morbid, this is not all to unique. The same thing happened for Internet porn star / college student Emily Sander, AKA ZOEY ZANE

This last month has proven, sex sells, aside from the searches for pictures of recently murdered women, recent internet searches have included Erin Andrews and her now famous peephole video, Heidi Montag's Playboy pictorial, Ashley Greene's Leaked Naked pictures and not to be outdone, Vanessa Hudgens and her Leaked naked pictures.

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If there is anything this should teach us, give the male human the most powerful tool in the known world and he will manage to find a way to use it to look boobies. God, I love technology. Sad for the awful death of Jasmine Fiore though. Here are some more pictures of Playboy model Jasmine Fiore to remember her by.

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PHILIP MARKOFF MEGAN McALLISTER WEDDING

PHILIP MARKOFF wedding was due to take place in August this year. His finacee MEGAN McALLISTER has claimed that Philip is "a beautiful person inside and out" and any such charges against him are not correct.

The Craiglist Killer suspect PHILIP MARKOFF has been charged for the death of Julissa Brisman and the robbery of another woman at two Boston luxury hotels.

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Police also believes that PHILIP MARKOFF may be involved in other crimes related to women which they may not be knowing about. Since the reasons are not known yet, speculation is rife that PHILIP MARKOFF may a misogynist that is a person who hates women for no apparent reason. On the other hand, marriage plans are clearly evident and MEGAN McALLISTER is waiting for his prince charming. Here the things get a little confusing - why did he, at all, agree for a marriage if PHILIP MARKOFF really hates women?

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We don’t know yet but hopefully things will be more clear once PHILIP MARKOFF will be arraigned and Police will provide more evidence for their belief. Meanwhile it has been also reported that PHILIP MARKOFF has no criminal record


Related links

MEGAN MCALLISTER - Pictures?

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MELISSA HUCKABY ARRESTED FOR MURDER OF SANDRA CANTU

An arrest has been made in the murder of eight-year-old Sandra Cantu in the Tracy, Calif.

Sources say the suspect is 28-year-old MELISSA HUCKABY, a neighbor whose own daughter was one of Sandra’s playmates.

Huckaby has been charged with kidnapping and murder.

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In a phone interview on Friday, Huckaby told CBS Station KPIX that Sandra visited her home March 27, the day she disappeared. MELISSA HUCKABY also said she had left a suitcase in the driveway that day, and that it was missing.

Sandra’s body was found 10 days after she disappeared, stuffed into a suitcase and dumped in a farm pond.

MELISSA HUCKABY is the granddaughter of the pastor of a nearby church that was searched extensively Friday by police investigators.

MELISSA HUCKABY taught Sunday school at the church, according to The Associated Press.

Soon after that search, MELISSA HUCKABY drove herself to the police station, where she was questioned until early Saturday morning.

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KPIX reports that at 2:25 a.m., police drove MELISSA HUCKABY out of their headquarters in an unmarked car, headed for the San Joaquin Jail, where she was booked on charges of kidnapping and murder.

"We have information that by the time (Sandra Cantu) was reported missing to us, she had already been murdered," Police Chief Janet Thiessen told KPIX.

She would not elaborate on Sandra's death nor a possible motive.

KPIX also reports that MELISSA HUCKABY was recently convicted for petty theft in San Joaquin County. According to court records, the judge ordered her to be examined by physicians after Huckaby claimed she was not mentally competent to stand trial. It was determined that she was competent and she pleaded guilty.

MELISSA HUCKABY was also convicted in November of 2006 for petty theft at the Bellflower Superior Court in Los Angeles County.

Cantu's disappearance had left the city of Tracy on edge, wondering how a little girl could just vanish so close to home.

The last time her mother saw Sandra alive, the little girl was going outside to play with friends, and surveillance video taken in their trailer park showed Sandra happily skipping on the trailer park's grounds.

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Here is some previous information on how MELISSA HUCKABY attempted to divert suspicion away from her by reporting a stolen suitcase.


It’s a huge suitcase, 28-year-old MELISSA HUCKABY said in a phone interview Friday, waterproof and charcoal-trimmed with an Eddie Bauer logo.

Police have yet to confirm whether it’s the same one found Monday morning that contained Sandra’s dead body.

Farmworkers discovered a suitcase that generally matches MELISSA HUCKABY’s description submerged in a dairy lagoon 2 miles north of the mobile home park where Sandra lived.

For the past year, after moving from Southern California, MELISSA HUCKABY and her 5-year-old daughter has lived at the same mobile home park with Huckaby’s grandparents, Clifford Lane Lawless and Connie Lawless, she said.

Sandra went missing March 27, the same day and in the same late-afternoon hour that MELISSA HUCKABY said the black suitcase disappeared from her driveway.

“There’s been a lot of speculation on the news about what happened to my suitcase,” she said Friday. “It’s not my granddad’s. It’s mine, and someone took it.”

MELISSA HUCKABY teaches Sunday school at Clover Road Baptist Church, her grandfather’s church just down the street from the mobile home park. MELISSA HUCKABY spruces up the church classroom every few months, she said, and had packed up the suitcase with everything she needed to redo the room that day.

Sandra had stopped at her house earlier and asked to play with her daughter, MELISSA HUCKABY said. But MELISSA HUCKABY said she didn’t want her daughter to play, because she had to pick up her toys. So Sandra left for another friend’s house, MELISSA HUCKABY said.

The 18 seconds of surveillance footage that shows Sandra playfully skipping by her family’s home show her on her way back to MELISSA HUCKABY’s home after leaving that other friend’s house, MELISSA HUCKABY said.

After Sandra left, her oldest sister, Miranda, went to MELISSA HUCKABY’s house, too. MELISSA HUCKABY asked Miranda if she could watch her daughter for her while she went down the street to the church. Connie Lawless was home, too.

MELISSA HUCKABY then set the packed suitcase on the driveway by her dark purple Kia SUV — the same one FBI agents and Tracy police detectives towed and searched Tuesday night. But she forgot her cell phone and keys inside the house, so she went back in for about 15 minutes to find them. She couldn’t, so she picked up the spare key and left.

She forgot about the suitcase and left it on the driveway.

When she got to the church, MELISSA HUCKABY’s grandmother called and said she found her keys and cell phone. MELISSA HUCKABY said that’s when she realized she had left the $200 suitcase outside. When her family went out to get it, they said it was gone.

“So I talked to the assistant manager at the mobile home park and asked him to keep an eye out for this suitcase; someone took it,” MELISSA HUCKABY said. “I also told some older kids to look out for it. I didn’t think much then, because, you know, kids were getting out of school, and I thought that maybe someone, maybe someone walking by, just took it.”

She called Tracy police intending to file a report but decided to do it online. She never got around to it.

Her grandfather — whom police also questioned — has had tools stolen, MELISSA HUCKABY said, and she had heard of plenty of petty theft and vandalism at the park. So she said she wasn’t surprised when she discovered her suitcase gone.

But by the time MELISSA HUCKABY had time to file a stolen property report, police had already started knocking on everyone’s door, asking about Sandra.

“They asked me if I noticed anything suspicious, so of course I told them about my missing suitcase,” MELISSA HUCKABY said.

Police questioned her, and she said she gave them permission to search her car for evidence, too.

MELISSA HUCKABY has spent several days since last week in the intensive care unit at Sutter Tracy Community Hospital for “internal bleeding,” though she refused to say exactly what condition she was admitted for. She was released Thursday morning, she said.

Police interviewed MELISSA HUCKABY at the hospital.

“It’s where I was, and I told them that’s where I was, so they came just because they had a few questions to ask me about what I know,” she said.

Dispatchers said over the police scanner on Tuesday that officers were “changing detail” at the hospital, where they had evidently been stationed for several hours.

Court records show a 28-year-old Melissa Huckaby pleaded no contest Jan. 9 to a felony charge of second degree commercial burglary and a misdemeanor charge of property theft with prior theft/burglary/robbery. The criminal complaint says she was locked up in Los Angeles County for conviction of property theft in November 2006 and that she tried to steal something from Target in November last year.

The complaint says she’s on probation in San Joaquin County and is due back in court on April 17, when she might be sentenced.

The documents list the woman’s address as 812 W. Clover Road, Space No. 57, which city property records show is owned by Clifford Lane Lawless and Connie Lawless.

The MELISSA HUCKABY interviewed Friday said that’s not her.

Asked why the address and cell phone number in the court documents match her own, she said she has no idea.

“I don’t know what to say,” she said. “That’s not me.”

Julia Hudsons' Mother and Brother Murdered in their Chicago Home

The mother and brother of Oscar-winning actress and chart-topping singer Jennifer Hudson has been found shot dead at the family's Chicago home, according to Hudson 's publicist and authorities.

A Chicago police department spokesman said the murders appeared to be the related to a domestic incident, but would not identify the victims.

Hudson 's personal publicist Lisa Kasteler confirmed that the victims were Hudson 's 57-year-old mother, Darnell Donnerson, and her brother 29-year-old brother Jason Hudson.

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Donnerson suffered a gunshot wound to the head. Hudson was shot in the chest, according to the Cook County Examiner's Office.

There were no signs of forced entry to the home, according to Joseph Patterson, deputy chief of patrol of the Chicago Police.

Neighbors reported hearing gunshots at Donnerson's home in the gritty Englewood neighborhood on the city's South Side between 8:00 or 9:00 am (1300 GMT) on Friday, but no one raised the alarm until around 3:00 pm (2000 GMT), authorities said.

It was Julia Hudson who made the gruesome discovery after returning home from her day shift at a bus company. The older sister of Jennifer Hudson summoned the police and also reportedly told them that her seven-year-old son was missing.

Authorities immediately issued an all points bulletin for the missing boy, Julian King.

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Police said the missing youngster might have been abducted from the home and could be in the company of William Balfour, a suspect in the double homicide, who should be considered armed and dangerous.

The bulletin said Balfour, 27, could be driving a white Chevrolet Suburban truck. The truck was registered to Jason Hudson, the slain brother of the singer, records showed.

Neighbours and news reports identified Balfour as Julia Hudson's estranged husband and the step-father of her son.

On his MySpace page, Balfour described himself as a "proud parent" and played up his links to Jennifer Hudson.

"I might as well let you all know that Jennifer Hudson is my wife's sister. I'm proud of her and wish her nothing but the best in what she do. But don't hit me up asking 'bout her, other than that it's on!" he wrote.

A slide show on the same site featured family snaps of Jennifer alongside shots of a bare-chested Balfour flexing his muscles for the camera.

Balfour is currently on parole after serving six and a half years for attempted murder, according to TMZ's website. He also has a conviction for possession of a stolen motor vehicle.

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At one time he listed Donnerson's home as one of his previous addresses.

The ex-con was taken into custody by police late on Friday, according to the Chicago Tribune newspaper.

Balfour was not co-operating with investigators and was not disclosing the whereabouts of the seven-year-old boy, FOX News reported. Chicago police would not confirm these reports.

Jennifer Hudson was reported to be flying home to Chicago from Tampa , Florida.

The 27-year-old singer shot to nationwide fame on American Idol, the wildly popular television talent show.

In 2007, she earned an Oscar for supporting actress for her turn in "Dreamgirls," alongside Beyonce, and Jamie Foxx.

Her debut album came out September 30 and she is currently riding high in the charts with a number one single on the Billboard R&B charts, called 'Spotlight'. In recent weeks she has been promoting her latest film project, "The Secret Life of Bees."

In interviews, Hudson credited her mother with helping her launch her career by pushing her to apply to American Idol, and said her siblings kept her rooted and down to earth.

Julia Hudson's MySpace page testified to the same deep affection for her mother. In response to a pop quiz asking who she most admired, Julia had written: "MY MOM, WHAT A WOMAN!"

In response to another question, asking who of her closest confidantes was most likely to get arrested, she had written: "WILLIAM."

----------------------------------------------------------

For Jennifer Hudson, two life themes appear again and again: her love of music and love of family.

"One reason my dreams have been able to come true is because of the people in my life," she said at a ceremony at the United Nations last year. "They've always believed in me, and had hope for me, and loved me."

The tragedy comes at a time of personal triumph for Hudson, still riding the wave of recognition that came with her best supporting actress Oscar in 2007 for her role in "Dreamgirls."

Hudson's single "Spotlight" is No. 1 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs, after 23 weeks on the chart. Her first, self-titled album debuted four weeks ago and has held the No. 2 spot ever since on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The album currently ranks fifth overall on the Billboard 200.



Last month, Hudson's boyfriend David "Punk" Otunga (also a Chicago native and reality TV personality) proposed to the singer/actress on her 27th birthday. Hudson said, "Yes."

In her newest movie, " The Secret Life of Bees," released last week, Hudson plays the motherly figure to a young white girl ( Dakota Fanning) during the 1960s in racially charged South Carolina.

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"It was fun to go back to my mother's time," she recently told PlanetOut.com. "Like, 'Wow, is this what my mom looked like? Is this the type of clothing she wore? Was this her style?' Especially in that scene with the bob haircut? That was so my mother."

It was Hudson's mother, Darnell Hudson Donerson, who encouraged her daughter to pursue a singing career.

"My mum tells this story of when I was a baby in church," Hudson told Australia's Sunday Telegraph Magazine last month. "They were teaching the choir a note, and they couldn't hit it. I was just 8 months old, but I hit the note. Apparently, my godmother looked over to my mother and said, 'Mark my words, this child is going to sing.' "

The youngest of three, including sister Julia and brother Jason, Hudson grew up in Englewood, on the South Side. Her father, bus driver Samuel Samson, died when Hudson was in her teens.

Hudson graduated from Dunbar Vocational Career Academy. She has ties to both the Progressive Baptist Church, near U.S. Cellular Field, and Pleasant Gift Missionary Baptist Church. Up until a few years ago, Hudson still lived with her mother. As of 2003, Hudson's singing experience was limited to the church choir, a stint performing on a Disney cruise ship and a 2001 production of "Big River" at Lincolnshire's Marriott Theatre.

Still, Donerson encouraged her daughter to fly to Atlanta and audition for the third season of "American Idol."

She made it. In 2004, after a vigorous competition, Hudson was voted off the show in seventh place. Judge Simon Cowell was particularly cruel to her, telling her she was "out of her league" and her outfit resembled "something you should wrap a turkey in."

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Hudson's resilience won out when director Bill Condon hired her for the role of Effie White in "Dreamgirls," a musical riff inspired by the career of The Supremes. Perhaps in a bit of poetic justice, Hudson beat out 781 others who auditioned for the role including, reportedly, 2004 "Idol" winner Fantasia Barrino.

Hudson has been careful not to complain about her "Idol" history and instead remained grateful for the experience.

Hudson told the Tribune she believes in God's overall plan for her. "It wasn't a big deal for her because one of her dreams had already come true," Hudson's older sister, Julia, told the Tribune in 2007. "All she wanted was for the world to hear her singing."

Hudson won both a Golden Globe and Academy Award for the performance—her first ever on film.

"She's the same Jennifer," Julia Hudson told the Tribune after her sister's Oscar win. "She wants to stop and talk to every fan she can and come home [to Chicago] every time she can."

She went on to positive reviews in "Sex in the City: The Movie" and continued to credit her success to the support of her family. Hudson visited Chicago last week when she was honored at the 44th Chicago International Film Festival's Black Perspective Tribute alongside Sidney Poitier.

"Family is everything. My family is definitely what keeps me grounded," she told the Sunday Telegraph in September. "They keep things in perspective and balanced. When I'm in Chicago, my life is normal. I have to get up and make my own breakfast, and I'm told the truth. I'm very normal—it's my career that's not."

More on the Todd Bachman Muder in China

The mother-in-law of the US men's volleyball coach remained critical on Sunday after a stabbing attack that left her husband dead, as the stunned team struggled to come to terms with the murder.

Head coach Hugh McCutcheon's father-in-law, Todd Bachman, was killed on Saturday after being attacked by an unemployed Chinese man at Beijing's Drum Tower monument while sightseeing with his wife and daughter Elisabeth.

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Their daughter was not hurt, although police said the Chinese guide who was with them was injured. The attack has raised new fears about security at the Games.


Australian Olympic athletes have been urged to wear team uniforms outside the Olympic village for security reasons following the fatal knife attack.


The assailant, a 47-year-old man from eastern China, then jumped to his death off the second storey of the monument, police said in a statement, without giving details as to why he carried out the attack.


"The United States Olympic Committee is saddened to confirm the death of Todd Bachman, father-in-law of United States Olympic Men's Indoor Volleyball Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon," the USOC said on their website.

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"Mr. Bachman and his wife Barbara were visiting the Drum Tower in Beijing, China, when they were attacked shortly after noon by an assailant wielding a knife.


"Their daughter Elisabeth was with them at the time of the attack.


"Mr. Bachman died as a result of injuries sustained in the attack. Mrs. Bachman suffered serious injuries and was transported to a local hospital for emergency treatment. Her injuries are serious and life-threatening."


The USOC added that the Bachmans were not wearing apparel that identified them as relatives of members of the US Olympic team and cited police as saying the killer acted alone.


Lang Ping, the coach of the US women's volleyball team, said the players were stunned when they heard of the death just before their opening win over Japan.


"We were shocked," said the coach. "Most of the players called their parents. I told them to be strong."


The attack occurred despite China deploying massive security in Beijing for the Olympics, with more than 150,000 police and other personnel on patrol across the city.


An estimated 450,000 foreigners are expected to come to Beijing for the Olympics, which opened on Friday night and will finish on August 24.


The killing also happened as US President George W. Bush was in the city to attend the Games and he expressed his condolences.

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"The President has been informed and his heart goes out to the families of the victims," a White House official travelling with Bush said


"The White House and US embassy have offered whatever assistance the family needs. US officials have also been in touch with Chinese authorities on the matter."


Acts of violence against foreigners in Beijing and throughout China are extremely rare, with expatriates happy to wander around the streets of the capital late at night.

However, foreigners have been victims of some high-profile attacks this year.

Last month, a Chinese man murdered a 22-year-old model in Shanghai and a Japanese embassy employee was slightly wounded in a knife attack in Beijing.

Chinese authorities have been clearly on edge over security in the lead-up to the Olympics, warning of a wide range of threats to people coming to Beijing for the event.

China has expressed most concern about Islamic terrorists trying to wreck the Games, and Chinese authorities said militants attacked and killed 16 policemen in the Muslim-populated far northwest of the country last week.

There was no indication that Saturday's incident had anything to with terrorism.

The Drum Tower is in the historic heart of Beijing. Together with the Bell Tower, the sites were once used for banging of drums and bells to tell time.

Now the Drum and Bell towers are tourist sites, with visitors able to stroll from them to the city's famed old lakes and other historic areas.

Police identified the attacker as Tang Yongming, from the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou.

The Xinhua news agency said Tang was unemployed and had no previous criminal record. He was divorced and had a 21-year-old son.

US Citizen Murdered at Beijing Olympics

A relative of the US men's volleyball coach has been killed and another family member seriously injured in an attack in Beijing, the US Olympic Committee has said in a statement.

The man killed was a US citizen and the injured victim was an American woman, Beijing police said in a statement.

The two family members were stabbed during the attack by what local law enforcement authorities have indicated was a lone assailant, the statement said.

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The man attacked the two Americans as well as their Chinese guide at the historic Drum Tower monument, a popular tourist site, at 12:20 pm (local time), the official Xinhua news agency has reported.

After the attack, the assailant then committed suicide by jumping off the second story of the monument.

A Beijing police spokesman has confirmed the tourist had been killed and the other two had been injured, but gave no further details.

Xinhua identified the attacker as Tang Yongming, a 47-year-old man from the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou.

The attack occurred despite China deploying massive security in Beijing for the Olympics, with more than 150,000 police and other personnel on patrol across the city.

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An estimated 450,000 foreigners are expected to come to Beijing for the Olympics, which opened on Friday night and will finish on August 24.

The killing also occurred as US President George W Bush was in the city to attend the Games.

A US embassy spokesman, Richard Buangan, said he was aware of the report but could give no details.

"I can tell you that we are working with the family and the Chinese authorities while we speak," Mr Buangan said, declining to comment further.

The Drum Tower is in the historic heart of Beijing. Together with the Bell Tower, the sites were once used for banging of drums and bells to tell time.

Now the Drum and Bell towers are tourist sites, with visitors able to stroll from them to the city's famed old lakes and other historic areas.

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Police closed off the Drum Tower following the incident.

The father-in-law of former Brigham Young men's volleyball player and coach Hugh McCutcheon was stabbed to death Saturday in a shocking attack at an ancient tower near downtown, officials said, casting a sudden pall over the Beijing Olympics only a day after they began.
The attack on Todd Bachman and his wife Barbara -- the parents of McCutcheon's wife, 2004 Olympian Elisabeth Bachman-McCutcheon, who was with them at the time -- occurred just as Hugh McCutcheon was preparing to lead the U.S. men's team, featuring former Cougars Ryan Millar of Highland and Rich Lambourne, into its first match of the Olympics against Venezuela and current Cougar Joel Silva on Sunday.
McCutcheon is the team's head coach.
Officials said a lone Chinese attacker wielding a knife attacked the Bachmans and their Chinese tour guide around noon at the Drum Tower in central Beijing, killing Todd Bachman and seriously injuring Barbara Bachman and their guide before jumping from the tower to his own death.
The U.S. Olympic Committee said Barbara Bachman is being treated for life-threatening injuries at a local hospital, but that Elisabeth Bachman-McCutcheon was not injured. The official state news agency Xinhua identified the attacker at 47-year-old Tang Yongming, from the city of Hangzhou in southeastern China.
"It is impossible to describe the depth of our sadness and shock in this tragic hour," U.S. Olympic Committee chairman Peter Ueberroth said. "Our delegation comes to the Games as a family, and when one member of our family suffers a loss, we all grieve with them. Our thoughts, prayers and deepest condolences are with the Bachman and McCutcheon families."
USOC spokesman Darryl Seibel said he did not know whether McCutcheon will continue to coach the team, or if there has been any consideration given to postponing or cancelling the match against Venezuela. Seibel said the team was informed of the incident Saturday night, and its response was "as you would expect."
"It's an awful thing," Seibel said. "A terrible tragedy."
The 38-year-old McCutcheon played for the Cougars from 1991-93, and later returned as an assistant coach and top recruiter for head coach Carl McGown, who led the Cougars to national championships in 1999 and 2001. He has been the head coach of the national team since 2005, and McGown is now a team scout who's with the team in Beijing.
Word spread quickly after the attack, surprising many who have observed the massive security build-up for the Olympics. Organizers and government officials here have sought to portray China as a safe nation welcoming of foreign visitors, and the country is known as typically free from attacks on tourists.
"To tell you the truth, this is really a shock because there's so much security here," Annette Busateri, a 31-year-old communications manager from Salt Lake City told The New York Times. "We were told that even at the public markets, there was a lot of security in plainclothes. There are guards everywhere and cameras. So I'm not sure how something like this could happen."

For More on this Story

More on the Smiley Face Killers

Could a national gang of killers that leaves smiley-face calling cards be getting away with murdering dozens of male college students by making all the deaths look like accidents?

That’s what two retired New York police detectives think, after spending their own money to link as many as 40 drowning deaths of otherwise healthy young men, many of them athletes.

“This is a nationwide organization that revels in killing young men," Prof. D. Lee Gilbertson of St. Cloud State University said in a report filed Tuesday

“We are talking about specifically targeting a small, narrow group of individuals for murder," said Kevin Gannon, who is now asking the FBI to step into the investigation he and Anthony Duarte began when both were working for the N.Y. Police Department.

It began with the 1997 death of Patrick McNeill, a young man whose body was found in the Hudson River after he had gone missing after a night on the town. McNeill had been drinking and the death was ruled a suicide. His parents refused to believe that, and Gannon, then a detective sergeant, told McNeill’s parents he would never give up on the case.

Gannon’s been good to his word, mortgaging his own house to keep the investigation alive. Working with fellow retired detective Anthony Duarte and looking into nearly 90 separate cases, he’s concluded that McNeill’s death is linked to at least 40 others that have occurred in 11 different states.

Most of what the detectives are calling murders occurred in the Midwest during the winter months. Almost all involved popular athletes with good grades. Most had been drinking before they disappeared and their bodies subsequently found in near-frozen bodies of water.

The link they think they’ve found is a smiley-face symbol drawn near where many of the drowning victims’ bodies have been discovered.

“This is what we saw,” Gannon said. “They're happy, as most serial killers are, and very content with their work and what they're doing and the fact that they're thwarting police."

“Local police departments are skeptical,” Cowan reported, “saying the team didn't produce any new evidence, just a theory, pointing out smiley faces — as well as other graffiti the investigators are using to link the deaths — are all pretty common.”

But parents of victims are lining up behind Gannon and Duarte. Among them is Bill Kruziki, himself a policeman, whose son, Matthew, disappeared on Christmas Eve in 2005 after a night of drinking in East Dubuque, Ill. His body was found three months later in the Mississippi River. He had drowned, but the coroner never determined whether it was an accident, suicide or murder.

"There is an instance in every one of them that doesn't make sense, something unexplainable, they vanished from this earth,” Said Kruziki.

Another death thought to fit the pattern is that of Adam Falcon, a student at St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y., who drowned in 2004.

"We do want to know truthfully what happened to our son," said his mother, Carla Falcon.

Families want answers

One of the deaths in the group Gannon and Duarte are investigating has been ruled a homicide. The victim was Chris Jenkins and the year was 2002. Like the others, Jenkins’ case was originally thought to be an accidental drowning, but police in Minneapolis, where the death occurred, later concluded that Jenkins had been abducted in a van and tortured before being drowned in the Mississippi River.

Despite the passage of six years, the pain never goes away, according to his mother, Jan Jenkins, who said, "Closure is a funny word; we cry every day."

Gannon and Duarte have exhausted their personal funds. They recently held a news conference in New York to appeal for money to continue the investigation and to get federal investigators involved. They’ve had a hard time convincing others in law enforcement that there is anything to investigate in what most see as unrelated accidental deaths.

Hans Reiser convicted of Murdering Nina Reiser

Hans Reiser took the stand during his murder trial and insisted he didn't kill his estranged wife when she dropped off their children at his Oakland hills home.

But a jury found otherwise on Monday. At the end of a six-month trial in Oakland, it convicted the computer programmer of first-degree murder in the death of Nina Reiser after concluding that her slaying in 2006 was deliberate and premeditated even though her body was never found.

The verdict capped a case that drew widespread attention largely because of Hans Reiser's 11 days of testimony - in which he accused his wife of caring more about her career than their children, antagonized the judge with his rambling answers and wept for his children, who now live in Russia with their grandmother.

"I've been the best father that I know how," Reiser, 44, said after the verdict when Alameda County Superior Court Judge Larry Goodman directed bailiffs to remove him from the packed courtroom.

Reiser, who faces 25 years to life in prison, is due back in court today to set a sentencing date.

Jurors, who spent three days in deliberations, left the courthouse without commenting. But prosecutor Paul Hora said the lack of a body wasn't an insurmountable challenge for the seven-man, five-woman panel.

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"We have a body," Hora said, referring to evidence of Nina Reiser's blood in Hans Reiser's car and home. "We just don't know where it is."

Defense attorney William Du Bois said he was disappointed with the verdict but added: "We weren't completely surprised." He said he expects his client will appeal.

Du Bois said he was sure that Reiser's behavior on the stand - such as demanding that his attorney object to questions, talking back to the prosecutor and giving rambling answers - "negatively impressed the jurors."

Reiser had argued during his murder trial that although he and his wife were going through a contentious divorce - she filed papers in 2004 - she left his Oakland hills house without a scratch after dropping off their young son and daughter on Sept. 3, 2006. Nina Reiser was never seen again - not by her mother, her children or her friends. The defense argued that there was no evidence that the 31-year-old mother was dead and suggested that she could be living in her native Russia or anywhere in Europe.

But after three days of deliberations, jurors agreed with prosecutors: Although her body hasn't been found, Nina Reiser is dead, and Hans Reiser murdered her.

How she was killed might never be known. But the jury concluded there was enough circumstantial evidence to piece together what turned out to be a simple case of a woman murdered by her estranged husband.

Platypus defendant
The prosecution pointed to blood belonging to Nina Reiser that was found in Hans Reiser's car and home on Exeter Drive in the Oakland hills, the fact that he removed the passenger seat from the car in an attempt to destroy evidence and his "callous" lack of concern after she went missing.

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"Based on all the evidence in this case, she's dead," Hora said in his closing argument. "He killed her, and he hid her."

Jurors rejected the defense argument that while Reiser might be a geeky, egotistical computer nerd - his attorneys compared the founder of the Namesys computer company to the odd-looking duck-billed platypus - he didn't commit murder. The defense had argued for an acquittal or a voluntary-manslaughter conviction.

The prosecution dismissed Reiser's explanations of why he suddenly went on a cleaning spree, removing the passenger seat of his mother's car, hosing off its interior and washing down the driveway of his home.

During the trial, the prosecution painted a portrait of a man who had so much hatred for his wife that he killed her after accusing her of making up illnesses for his son and resenting that she wouldn't give him legal custody of their children.

In his lengthy time on the witness stand, Reiser rambled so much that the judge rebuked him repeatedly. After one tirade this month, Goodman said: "You are rude. You are arrogant. There's not enough words in the English language to describe the way you are. You have been trying to make a mockery of these proceedings."

Assorted explanations
On the stand, Reiser gave assorted explanations for why he behaved the way he did after his wife disappeared.

He said he removed hard drives from his computer because he resented the government taking all his possessions. He withdrew thousands of dollars in cash so that he could pay his Russian programmers, he said.

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And he was cleaning - even though it was uncharacteristic for him to do so - because his mother, Beverly Palmer, had called him an "inconsiderate slob" and threatened to kick him out of the home they shared, he said.

Reiser also verbally attacked his wife, calling her a manipulative woman who "worked" people and was "incapable of love," put up a false front in public and cared more about becoming a doctor than being a good mother. Reiser accused his wife and his former best friend, Sean Sturgeon, of stealing from Namesys and suggested that Sturgeon - who had had an affair with his wife - should be looked at in connection with her disappearance.

He wept twice - not over his wife but over the fact that his son, now 8, and daughter, now 6, were taken away from him. They now live with their maternal grandmother, Irina Sharanova, in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Both Sharanova and the boy testified, saying they haven't seen Nina Reiser since she went missing. In an interview played for the jury, Hora asked the boy what he liked best about his mother: "Everything," he replied. Hora showed jurors a video of Nina Reiser kissing her son's cheek at his birthday party when he turned 6.

The jury also heard from dozens of friends, teachers and others who said the same thing: Nina Reiser would never abandon her children. The defense said she did leave her children - with her mother.

Legal analyst Steve Clark, who has worked as both a prosecutor and defense attorney, expressed surprise at how quickly the jury reached a verdict, particularly one for first-degree murder.

"I did not see evidence of planning before the murder, particularly when the murder happened in the house with the kids present," Clark said. "You think if Hans wanted to kill his wife, he would have done it when the kids were not home."

Clark said putting Reiser on the stand "backfired badly because not only did the jury not like him, but he filled in the blanks for the prosecution. There was nothing left for the jury to consider."

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The Reiser case
Highlights from the trial of Hans Reiser, at top, for the murder of his wife, Nina, above:

-- Reiser testified that he did not kill his wife, saying she vanished nearly two years ago after they talked about their rancorous divorce. Her body has never been found.

-- Police found Nina Reiser's blood in his car and home in the Oakland hills. Prosecutors say Hans Reiser removed the car's passenger seat in an attempt to destroy evidence.

-- His attorney said jurors were "negatively impressed" by Reiser's 11 days of rambling testimony.

Teen's Charged in Alba Texas Triple Murder

A mother and two children were killed in a pre-dawn attack at their remote East Texas ranch, which burned to the ground, and three high school students who knew the family will be among those charged with murder, authorities said Saturday.
The father was in critical condition with a gunshot wound, Rains County Sheriff David Traylor said at a news conference.

Three high school students, including one juvenile, and an adult were arrested and booked into the Rains County jail. The two males and two females will be charged with three counts each of capital murder, Traylor said.

The family had a teenage daughter, but Traylor did not provide information on her whereabouts. The dead were a 39-year-old woman and two boys, ages 8 and 13, Traylor said.

"It's the scariest thing," Traylor said. "You don't know what to make. I guess you imagine the worst and hope for the best."

The sheriff said authorities could not determine whether gunshots or the fire caused the deaths, saying, "The bodies have been so badly burned."

Autopsies have been ordered.

The house sat on at least 20 acres of pine-canopied, remote land on a gravel road with just two other homes. Alba is about 60 miles northeast of Dallas.
Carl Johnson, a family friend, said he drove to the secluded road early Saturday after being told of the fire. He said the father dragged his wounded body about 150 yards to a neighbor's house, leaving a bloody trail.

Johnson described the family as musicians, the boys playing guitars and harmonica and the mother piano at church. He said he'd often tell the teenage daughter that he wanted her to sing at his funeral.

"I just thought the whole world of the family," said Johnson, 75. "They were good Christian people. (The father) was like a son of my own."

Harold Read, who lives about a mile away, said he was awakened by what he thought was thunder around 4 a.m., the time when authorities were first called to the house.

"All you read about out here are ticky-tacky crimes in the local paper," said Read, 67. "I never lock my doors. This is a quiet place."

By late Saturday, firefighters sifted through the ash and singed metal that was all that remained from the house. A wooden sign tacked to a tree in the family's dirt driveway read "Joshua 24:15," and a burned van was parked near where the home once stood.