Everybody loves the acoustic properties of tile.
Wail on, Skydog!
And since today is my birthday, I'd like to offer y'all a slice of cake.
Your thoughts on what they're going for here?
Shawn's kind of a heavy gun for general safety tips, but whatever he himself chooses to do is fine with me, of course. I do admit to being from the generation that knows how to stop, drop, and roll because a comedian showed us.
He could be a powerful voice on some very serious matters, if he feels that call.
Russian rink runs red! Enraged ursine cuts deadly figure 8!:
A bear on ice skates attacked two people during rehearsals at a circus in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, killing one of them, Kyrgyz officials said Friday.In the incident, which happened Thursday, the 5-year-old animal killed the circus administrator, Dmitry Potapov, and mauled an animal trainer, who was attempting to rescue him.
"The incident occurred during a rehearsal by the Russian state circus company troupe which was performing in Bishkek with the program, Bears on Ice," Ministry of Culture and Information director Kurmangazy Isanayev told reporters.
Trained bear leaves trainer "bearly" alive...
Saying "a fool and her money are soon parted" is blaming the victim:
A 22-year-old woman, who flashed $27,000 in cash Monday night while inside an Indian Orchard bar, was held up at gunpoint around midnight after she left the bar with a male friend and walked towards her car.Sgt. John M. Delaney said the victim, while inside the bar, bragged of receiving the $27,000 from an insurance claim.
Delaney, aide to Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet, said the victims told police they were robbed by two male suspects wearing dark clothing and bandanas, one armed with what appeared to be a semi-automatic handgun.
“Lesson learned...” Delaney said in prepared statement. “When you cash a settlement, put it in the bank.”
Detectives are probing the case, Delaney said.
Fine for you to say, Officer Perfect. Now brush the powdered sugar off your badge and get that citizen her money back!
A repost of somebody's pretty work to go along with someone else's pretty work:
Clay Pelland's rounded up some special audio.
Wail on, Skydog!
There's a Jacksonville girl who needs some help today. An Amber Alert has been called for 7 year-old Somer Thompson of Orange Park who was last seen walking home from school yesterday afternoon. Florida and Georgia eyes on the lookout and prayers going out for Somer, please.
Heavy coverage over at news4jax:
Twenty-four hours after a 7-year-old failed to come home from school, helicopters, bloodhounds and mounted deputies had joined a least 100 law enforcement personnel and an untold number of citizens in a massive search for the girl.An Amber Alert was issued Tuesday morning for Somer Renee Thompson, who was reported missing from her Grove Park neighborhood of Orange Park about 4 p.m. Monday.
By Tuesday afternoon, after following 80 leads and searching several square miles of Orange Park with no sign of Somer, investigators were increasingly concerned for her welfare.
"She is definitely endangered and we do suspect foul play," Clay County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Dan Mahla said at a 4 p.m. briefing.
Somer is described as 3 feet 5 inches tall and 65 pounds with brown hair in a pony tail with a red bow. She was last seen wearing a cranberry-colored sweatsuit with pink stripe on the sleeve and pants. She also had a black, pink and white backpack with a skull and hearts. She may be wearing a white hat and scarf.
Deputies said the second-grader was last seen at 2:45 p.m. walking home from Grove Park Elementary School near West Gano Avenue and Debarry Avenue with her twin brother and her sister. Authorities were told she ran ahead of them after "a childhood squabble" with her twin brother.
When Somer wasn't home by 4 p.m., her mother called police.
"We're hoping for the best, but we're working as if it is a crime scene," Clay County Sheriff Rick Beseler said Tuesday morning. "Time is of the essence. Every moment that goes by is not in our favor. That's why the push is so hard."
Beseler said deputies were out all night using infrared cameras and dog teams to search the wooded areas. Beseler said when deputies finished interviewing the 58 registered sex offenders within three miles of where Somer disappeared; they expanded the search to a five-mile radius.
UPDATE:
Texas Equusearch is there this morning.
UPDATE II:
Here's a video interview with the father and a brief article. He's a disabled vet living in Somer's former home in N. Carolina and is wheelchair-bound.
UPDATE:
A body was found in the landfill. Poor baby:
Clay County authorities report that the body of a small child was found in a landfill near Folkston, Ga., where Orange Park's garbage is dumped."We hope and pray that it's not the body of Somer, but the garbage that was in that area was collected from Orange Park," Beseler said.
Seven-year-old Somer Thompson disappeared while walking home from school Monday afternoon. A massive search of Orange Park has been under way since Monday evening.
Clay County detectives found the body about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at a the Chesser Island Landfill in Charlton County.
"This was just a hunch -- a standard investigative practice -- and discovered what we feared we were going to find," Beseler said.
Beseler announced the grim news at an afternoon news conference that was delayed for about 20 minutes because of a "major development."
Gov. Charlie Crist was on hand hoping to rally efforts to find Somer and the Justice Coalition was set to announce $30,000 reward for Somer's safe return.
Instead, that reward will be for information for the capture and conviction of whoever is responsible for the arrest and conviction of whoever is responsible for putting that small child in the trash.
Hopefully they've found the crime scene and will soon catch the monster who did this:
Authorities investigating the death of Somer Thompson are seeking evidence in a vacant house and surrounding property, including a full Dumpster, at 1080 Gano - the area where the 7-year-old was last seen, said Mary Justino, a spokeswoman for the Sheriff's Office.The house was damaged in a fire a about three months ago, Justino said. The owners of the house have given deputies permission to go on the property. A neighbor said three men had been living on the property before the fire and it was being refurbrished.
Two Florida Department of Law Enforcement vans are at the scene, as well as Clay investigators. The street has been roped off with yellow police tape. Authorities began convening at the scene across from the Orange Park Athletic Association's ballfields around 3:30 p.m.
Somer disappeared at that location about 2:45 p.m. Monday while walking home with her brother from Grove Park Elementary School, which is less than a half mile away from the current activity. Her body was found Wednesday in a Folkston landfill. Justino said the medical examiner in Savannah positively identified Somer through dental records.
Clay County Sheriff Rick Beseler said he believes Somer was abducted and murdered on the way home from Grove Park Elementary School. He indicated there were no suspects and warned area residents to be on guard.
"There is a child killer on the loose," Beseler said at a 7:15 a.m. news conference. "I fear for our community until we bring this person in."
Justino said investigators are still seeking five registered sex offenders or predators whom they haven't talked with within a five mile radius of where Somer disappeared. Another 70 or so have checked out.
Minor charges and being mentioned, but I think the important thing is to hit these attention whores in the wallet:
The bizarre flight of a home-made helium balloon, thought to have a 6-year-old boy aboard, was a hoax and publicity stunt, a Colorado sheriff said on Sunday."It has been determined that this is a hoax, that it was a publicity stunt and we believe we have evidence at this point to indicate that this was a publicity stunt in hopes to better market themselves for a reality show," Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden told reporters at a press conference.
He said the family faced several charges.
The sight of the flyaway balloon on live television gripped U.S. viewers for more than two hours on Thursday as the silver flying saucer-shaped contraption raced across the Colorado sky, tracked by U.S. National Guard helicopters before the boy, Falcon Heene, was found alive and well in his attic.
Questions were raised after Falcon was asked during an interview on CNN why he had stayed in hiding so long when family members and other searchers were desperately calling his name.
He responded: "You guys (his parents) said that, um, we did this for a show."
Alderden said the parents, Richard and Mayumi Heene, could face charges of conspiracy, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, filing a false report with authorities and with attempting to influence a public servant.
Alderden had previously said the couple would face only misdemeanor charges in the incident.
The Heene family has appeared on the ABC television reality show "Wife Swap" in which families swap mothers to deal with family problems.
Richard Heene has emphatically denied that the incident was a hoax and Alderden initially said that he believed him, largely dismissing skepticism in the media.
Bill the Heenes for the cost of the search. Also recommended: tether the wayward Richard and Mayumi to the next departing space shuttle. They'd get their largest audience ever.
[Updated]
So how does the age progression photo match up:
Besides the hair color, pretty darn close, I'd say.
UPDATE:
All the pics from "People" after the jump:
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A pic I've never seen from the series of a Layla-shirted Duane backstage.
What do you hear, Duane?
Wail on, Skydog!
Or, Scenes From The End Of A Relationship Pt. 2: the Pescecide Continues:
A Portland man who attacked his ex-girlfriend and impaled her pet fish this summer has been sentenced to two years probation, a psychological evaluation and community service. Donald Earl Fite III, 27, pleaded guilty Tuesday to animal abuse and domestic violence assault.According to court records, Sarah Harris had broken up with Fite but returned to her Portland apartment July 25 to find him lying on her bed, saying he wanted to get back together.
When Harris tried to leave, Fite shoved her against a wall, grabbed her hair and tossed her against a bathtub.
Harris fled but returned with an officer to find her fish - a bright purple betta named "DeLorean" - on the wood floor with a knife through it.
According to court records, Fite quickly admitted killing the fish, telling police: "If she can't have me, then she can't have the fish."
Fite's attorney, Tom Macnair, said Tuesday that killing the fish was a "very low point" in his client's life.
Harris did not attend the hearing. In a phone interview with The Oregonian newspaper, she recalled crying hysterically when she saw the fish with a knife sticking through it.
"Donald bought the fish for me, and I'm sure he knew how much I cared for it," she said.
Betta fish, also known as Siamese fighting fish, are colorful freshwater aquarium fish that usually are between 2 and 3 inches long.
It's a blessing neither of these couples had children. There'd be much cautious post-argument sniffing of babyfood jars chez eux.
***
It looks like in between having gibbering nervous breakdowns in the sandwich spread aisle of the grocery store, our dear friends over at the Coalition of the Swilling are also blogging this whopper.
Carpetbagger extraordinaire Robert Wexler is leaving office:
U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Boca Raton, will resign from Congress to take a "public policy position," several Democratic sources said today.
...
Wexler was a key early supporter of Barack Obama's presidential campaign, endorsing Obama in early 2007 when most of the Florida Democratic establishment backed Hillary Clinton for president. From the moment Obama was elected, rumors swirled that Wexler might be in line for an appointment in the Obama administration.Wexler downplayed such talk in November, saying he wasn’t interested in leaving Congress.
“I have a dream job. A job I love. I could not be happier. And I am not looking for any change in that regard,” Wexler said at the time.
Self-described “fire-breathing liberal” Wexler was elected in 1996 and has not faced a serious reelection challenge since. Even last year, after his residency became an issue — Wexler lives with his family in Maryland and was using his in-laws’ address to establish Florida residency — Wexler won a seventh term with 66.2 percent.
There's an awful lot of folks in Boca who are going miss that sweet, sweet taxation without representation.
This kid could use your prayers:
A 15-year-old Deerfield Beach boy was badly burned Monday afternoon when he was doused with a flammable liquid and intentionally set on fire, according to officials.Broward Sheriff's Office spokesman Jim Leljedal said the boy, identified by family members as Michael Brewer, was sitting by a swimming pool about 3:15 p.m. when the bizarre attack took place.
The seventh-grader suffered burns over 75 percent of his body, especially on his torso and arms, Leljedal said.Brewer's sister, Malissa Durkee, 22, said her brother screamed for help and got the attention of a neighbor who put out the flames with a fire extinguisher.
The boy then ripped off his shirt and jumped into the pool, she said.
Shortly before 9 p.m., a family member said deputies told the family that two suspects had been arrested. BSO could not confirm the arrests Monday night.
Detectives were investigating whether the attack at the Lime Tree Apartments in the 400 block of Southeast 13th Court was tied to an incident the day before, when Brewer stopped someone from stealing his father's bicycle.
Danny Martinez, Malissa Durkee's brother-in-law, said Brewer, a student at Deerfield Beach Middle School, had refused to go to school Monday because of Sunday's incident. BSO officials said he had gone to the apartments to visit a friend.
After the attack, Brewer was taken by helicopter to Broward General Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, then was transferred to Jackson Memorial Hospital's burn unit in Miami.
From bike theft to attempted murder resulting in grievous bodily harm in just a day is quite the criminal leap. I can't wait to see the little darlings' mugshots. I'm sure it's not the first they've posed for.
UPDATE:
Cute kid, huh? He's now looking at, oh, I'd say quite a few surgeries. Two 15-year-olds and a 13-year-old were taken into custody and are appearing in court this afternoon.
We do have a new motive: they planned and carried out the attack over the 90 zillion bucks the vic owed them. Actually, I'm just guessing the amount. It would have to be alot of dough to rate doing this. Right?
UPDATE II:
Suspects named:
The suspects, Matthew Bent, 15; Denver Colorado Jarvis, 15; and his brother Jeremy Jarvis, 13, appeared before Circuit Judge Elijah Williams, who said the victim was sitting by a swimming pool at about 3:15 p.m. when the three teens allegedly approached him and confronted him "over money they said he owed them."Then, he said, the victim was held down while the alcohol was poured on him, and someone lit the blaze. Brewer, a seventh-grader, jumped into the pool to put out the fire, the judge said. Family members said most of his hair, including his eyelashes, had been burned off.
The Jarvis brothers and Bent were each ordered held in a juvenile detention center for 21 days, and will not be allowed to speak to each other, Williams said. They were also ordered not to contact Brewer.
Lawyers for the younger Jarvis brother and for Bent said their clients were "minimally involved" in the attack. Attorney Stephen Melnick said said Jeremy Jarvis was "just there. He was not accused of actually doing it."
Attorney Gordon Weekes, representing Bent, said his client "understands the gravity of the charges."
UPDATE III:
The illustrious Jarvis brothers, Jeremy and Denver
Matthew Bent
Hopefully the shackles they're wearing make them feel like some big ol' gangsters because I know how fragile a tenderfoot thug's self-esteem can be.
UPDATE IV:
More arrests and the original motive rears its head:
Moments before Michael Brewer was engulfed in flames, Matthew Bent, 15, the teen accused of organizing the attack, yelled "Snitch, snitch!" and "Pour it on him!," said Sgt. Steve Feeley, the deputy who investigated the case.However, officials on Tuesday called the attack an unplanned incident: The teens had found a jug of rubbing alcohol by chance and did not know Brewer was going to be near the Deerfield Beach apartment complex's pool where they set him on fire.
Bent and four others have been arrested and charged with aggravated assault: brothers Denver Jarvis, 15, and Jeremy Jarvis, 13; Steven Shelton, 15; and Jesus Mendez, 15.
Mendez, who authorities say is the one who flicked a lighter at Brewer, was also charged with attempted second-degree murder.
Brewer suffered second-degree burns to 80 percent of his body, especially on his torso and arms, according to the Sheriff's Office.
Did some mean-ass little boys with a grudge against some kid happen to come upon a jug of alcohol then wander by happenstance into that boy's path? It could happen.
Got a camera? It's 7:00 p.m. and that's when the simian squadron flies a sortie from my sphincter. It's kind of like my version of the changing of the guard.
One technology made ascending floors easy and another encourages the old fashioned slog. Who could resist piano stairs?:
He hasn't done anything, but they think if he does do something it'll be really good:
President Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday in a stunning decision designed to build momentum behind his initiatives to reduce nuclear arms, ease tensions with the Muslim world and stress diplomacy and cooperation rather than unilateralism.
Obama said he was surprised and deeply humbled by the honor, and planned to travel to Oslo to accept the prize.
"I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many transformative figures that have been honored by this prize," he said. "I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations to confront the challenges of the 21st century."
Many observers were shocked by the unexpected choice so early in the Obama presidency, which began less than two weeks before the Feb. 1 nomination deadline and has yet to yield concrete achievements in peacemaking.
Expect him to win this year's Grammy for best album, because based on anecdotes of his shower-singing abilities, if he ever went into a recording studio the results would be pure awesomeness.
Nothing those nuclear plant workers do could surprise me:
So apparently they were caught avoiding using the gate. Had it hidden in their underwear too, I'd wager.
Our recent need for closer involvement with the American health care system has been a train wreck. Our solution: we're going to India for Mr. Cracker's cancer surgery and treatment.
Even though papillary thyroid cancer is just about the most easily treatable cancer on the block, our insurance is pretty much worthless to cover it in a reasonable fashion. The impetus for a more global view on medical treatment came last week when our silly surgeon, instead of sending Mr. Cracker to a normal place where we could pay $450 out of pocket for a CAT scan, sent him to his hospital to have it done. Our part for that 40 minute procedure is $9,000. We decided we'd rather have him help us by not helping us. I would like to give him something to remember us by though, which is 9,000 punches to his balls.
We're now negotiating the bill. According to a recent article in the Herald we would have gotten lots of practice at that:
When Robert Dollar entered Baptist Hospital, he knew precautions had to be taken, because he would be slightly radioactive from taking a tablet intended to rid himself of any remaining cancer cells after having his thyroid removed.That's why a hospital worker wrapped the light switches, telephone receiver, door handles and a portion of the floor with plastic sheeting. Charge for the wrapping: $2,518. Total bill for his 45-hour stay: $23,396.30.
Irate when he saw the bill, Dollar wrote to the hospital: ``As our nation struggles to understand why it pays almost twice as much per capita for medical care with more failed treatment outcomes -- $6,700 per patient here versus $3,400 in the Netherlands . . . the gluttony of a hospital charging $23,396.30 . . . is terribly wrong.''
Dollar was echoing what many policy experts are saying during the present debate about healthcare reform: Costs must be brought down to help cover the uninsured. That's particularly true in South Florida, where healthcare spending is far higher than in most other areas of the country.
We're lucky to be a situation where we can afford to be irritated and spiteful instead of on our knees at someone's mercy. During both trips over we'll be stopping to spend a couple of days in Paris. Now that's called making the best of a bad situation.
Duane with Delaney & Bonnie and King Curtis.
He looks to be the only person playing. Fine with me.
Wail on, Skydog!
Getting to the heart of the matter here:
Hate the deed:
Police said an Ohio elementary school student bit a teacher on the arm and had to be pried off by a school official. Dayton police said the child was brought to the assistant principal's office at Patterson-Kennedy Elementary School Monday by teacher Stephen Green. The boy began throwing things in the office and had to be restrained by Green.Assistant Principal Jack Johnson told police that Green was bitten on the forearm while clutching the child. Johnson said he had to pry the boy's mouth open so he'd let go.
Green, 54, went to a hospital to be treated for the bite.
The child, whose age was not released, was taken to a hospital for a psychological examination.
Usually if you just treat them nice, they're the sweetest things in the world.
A story I'd not heard before: the rehabilitation of Lt. Brennan:
(Via Nancy in e-mail and This Ain't Hell.)
I think I read about this in the book of Revelations:
A 74-year-old who was "filleted" by raccoons when she tried to shoo them away from her central Florida home was hospitalized for more than two days, authorities said Monday.Gretchen Whitted, of Lakeland, was in stable condition Monday, two days after she saw a family of raccoons near her back patio. She told rescue personnel she tried to wave the animals away; a few minutes later, she spotted them at her front door and tried to run them off again. Then they attacked.
Whitted fell, and the five animals bit and clawed at her, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.
"They enveloped her," the sheriff said.
"We're not talking about a lot of little bites here," Judd added. "She was filleted."
A neighbor called for help after hearing the woman's cries and seeing her covered in blood.
Whitted received dozens of staples and sutures and was treated for rabies, though officials doubt the animals were infected.
Fire crews flooded nearby drains where some of the animals escaped, but none turned up. Animal Control officers hope to catch them in traps baited with wet cat food and sardines.
"I've been a hunter all my life and I've never heard of raccoons attacking in a mob like this," Judd said.
We had a dog who once chased a raccoon around to the side of the house. Unbeknownst to them, that route dead-ended in a tall wooden privacy gate. Fifteen seconds after the dog chased the raccoon around the corner, here they came back around the same corner, this time with the raccoon chasing the dog. And that little dog was making the weirdest sounds as he ran.
She's testifying today for the first time against kidnapper Brian David Mitchell. It's part of a competency hearing to determine if he's fit for trial. She asked to speak because she thinks he's been conning the court.
Live blogging of her testimony was here, but has cut out. I've included the full live blog below and a write up of the testimony.
[UPDATE]
I'm surprised at how complete her testimony is. Mitchell has been in custody six years and this is what she has to do to even attempt to get this thing to trial:
The following is a running version of the testimony being given by Elizabeth Smart on Thursday in federal court in Salt Lake City. Smart is testifying about her disappearance in 2002.
The dialogue is being presented as accurately as possible and will be updated throughout the day by Tribune staff members.
WARNING: This testimony contains sexually graphic and violent descriptions.
Judge Dale A. Kimball: We're here in the matter of USA vs. Brian David Mitchell.
[To Mitchell, who is singing a Mormon hymn.] If you continue singing or otherwise disrupting the hearing, you waive that right and will be taken to another room where we have the audio and video feed. Apparently he's not going to stop. I'll ask the Marshals to take Mr. Mitchell to the room prepared for the audio and video feed.
[To the prosecutor] You may call Ms. Smart.
U.S. Attorney for Utah Brett L. Tolman: Your honor we would call Elizabeth Smart to the stand.
Judge: Come forward and be sworn in please Ms. Smart right up here in front of the clerk of the court.
(sworn in)
Elizabeth Smart: Elizabeth Ann Smart
Tolman: Thank you your honor. Elizabeth you have water in front of you in case you need. There are Kleenex, as well, if at any time you need a break let me know. Elizabeth, what happened to you
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on June 5, 2002?
Smart: A man broke into my house and held me at knife point and kidnapped me.
Tolman: You indicate this is the day you were kidnapped?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: At about what time did this occur?
Smart: In the early morning between 2 and 3. I was in my house in my room.
Tolman: Where was your sister?
Smart: Right next to me in the same bed.
Tolman: Did you know the individual?
Smart: Yes, Brian David Mitchell.
Tolman: What did he do?
Smart: He came into my room and held a knife to my throat and threatened me with my life and my family's life to come with him.
Tolman: Did he do anything ... ?
Smart: Yes, he placed his hand on my chest. He then put the knife up to my neck. He told me to get up quietly and if I didn't then he would kill me and my family.
Tolman: What was his voice like?
Smart: It was quiet. He was whispering, but it was still loud enough it could wake someone. He was dressed in sweats, sweatshirt, stocking cap, tennis shoes.
Tolman: Was he carrying anything with him? You indicated a knife was there. Anything else he was carrying?
Smart: Umm. To the best of my memory that's all I can remember.
Tolman: We'll come back to that. What other instructions did he give you? You indicated he threatened you ...
Smart: He told me to get shoes. When I reached for normal slip-on shoes he told me to take the tennis shoes.
Tolman: He corrected you and indicated you should take tennis shoes. ... Did you ask why he was taking you?
Smart: Yes he told me he was taking me hostage and holding me ransom.
Tolman: You learned it was a lie.
Smart: He had (the knife) to my throat and held it to my back as he took me away from my house and took me up into the mountains.
Tolman: Did he continue to threaten you?
Smart: Yes
Tolman: Once he has you outside the home did you observe if he was carrying anything with him? Did he have a flashlight?
Smart: Yes, he had a flashlight.
Tolman: Did he have any additional clothing?
Smart: I can't remember right now.
Tolman: Any rain coats?
Smart: I just can't remember anymore.
Tolman: Did he have any socks? Did he ask you to put on socks?
Smart: No.
Tolman: What did he say about that?
Smart: I just had my bare feet and my shoes.
Tolman: Did he pick up water along the way? Do you recall if he had placed any water outside?
Smart: I don't remember at all.
Tolman: Was he concerned about getting caught?
Smart: Yes. He forced me to duck down behind some bushes before we crossed the street and we moved at a quick pace up the trail till we eventually turned off the trail and wound up the back side of a canyon where nobody had been, I mean there was no trail.
Tolman: Where did he take you ultimately?
Smart: He took me in a canyon behind my house about three miles up the coast of the mountain ridge. There were lots of trees surrounding where he had a camp he had set up.
Tolman: Was that where Wanda [Barzee, his wife] was?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: What was the first thing he did to you when he took you to the camp?
Smart: He ... (pause) ... He took me inside where Wanda was then tried to force me to bathe. After arguing with her, she eventually just proceeded to wash my feet and told me to change out of my pajamas into a robe type of garment. And when I refused she said if I didn't she would have Brian Mitchell come rip my pajamas off. I put the robe on in which he came and performed a ceremony which was to marry me to him. After that, he proceeded to rape me.
Tolman: In those early days, what did he do to ensure you didn't escape?
Smart: He had a big bolt with a cable strung between two trees that had a lock with a key. The cable was bolted to my leg, and that was connected to two trees that was connected to both cables.
Tolman: How long was the cable?
Smart: The cable that was on my leg was probably 10 feet long, the one between the two trees was probably 15 to 20 feet long.
Tolman: At any point did you have the key or the ability to take that off?
Smart: No.
Tolman: Did he have it on him?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: Did he know police were looking for him?
Smart: I turned to him and said, 'If you get caught you'll go to jail,' I told him if he would let me go I would speak in his behalf, but he did not.
Tolman: How often did he rape you?
Smart: On a daily basis up to three or four times.
Tolman: Of your nine months with him, what was his dominant focus?
Smart: Sex.
Tolman: Did he speak to you about religion?
Smart: He used religion to get what he wanted, had an excuse for everything he did with a religious side.
Tolman: was there ever at time he did not talk about sex or ...
Smart: No.
Tolman: Did he ever give you drugs or alcohol to lower your resistance?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: Did he ever show you pornography?
Smart: Yes
Tolman: What would he say to you about why he showed you pornography?
Smart: He would say I have to be humble below all things before rising above all things.
Tolman: Did he use religion to justify behavior?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: How?
Smart: Anything I showed resistance or hesitance to, he would turn to me and say, 'The lord has commanded you to do this, you have to experience the lowest form of humanity to experience the highest.'
Tolman: Did he ever try convince you that having sex with him was OK?
Smart: He would say that's what a husband and wife do.
Tolman: Was he crude?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: Was he vulgar?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: Did he use vulgar terms to describe parts of the male and female body?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: What would he say he was going to do?
Smart: He was going to minister to the world and to its supplies.
Tolman: What would he want to talk about or do?
Smart: Usually when he'd go down it was after a day or so of not eating, so he would bring back something to eat, then he would go on to rape me.
Tolman: Would he ever sing or shout what he was going to do?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: What would he say?
Smart: He would run up the mountainside yelling [and sexually threatening her with obscenities.]
Tolman: Several occasions?
Smart: Yes
Tolman: Did you ever get a break from being raped by the defendant?
Smart: Yes, when Wanda would get very upset with her, she said all you do is lust after her. In order to calm Wanda down, he would say, 'I've received a revelation,' but there wasn't an actual 24-hour period he wasn't able to rape me.
Tolman: During this so called break, he was responding to Wanda's objection how lustful he was to you?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: What would he do to solve that problem?
Smart: He would set apart every other night to spend with her, but it wouldn't last very long.
Tolman: He was setting up some sort of schedule, alternating between you and Wanda?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: Did he adhere to that schedule?
Smart: He did for a little while. There was an occasion when he took me to get water to hike to an underground stream, on the way up he turned to me, he said how much he needed me to have sex with him right then and there, and that Wanda would never know, she would understand and she would be OK, and it would be OK.
Tolman: Did you say no to him?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: How did it make you feel to say no to him on that occasion?
Smart: Wonderful.
Tolman: Did he try to convince you it would be bad if you stopped?
Smart: One time he tried and I bit him he said if I did that he would never have sex with me again and I would be the most miserable woman in the world. He said that but it didn't stop him.
Tolman: Can someone be religious but not spiritual or Christlike?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: And vice versa.
Smart: Yes, he was religious but not spiritual not Christlike.
Tolman: Did you ever observe him to do an act of kindness or charity?
Smart: No.
Tolman: Did he think highly of himself?
Smart: Yes, he was the king, he was the lord's servant and was doing the lord's work.
Tolman: Did you observe him use religion to help others or get what he wanted?
Smart: To get what he wanted.
Tolman: How did he do this?
Smart: He used religious to get into the home of the Kemp family. While he was looking for another young girl to kidnap and he went to an LDS ward posing as an investigator and there was a nice couple there that invited them into their home and invited him to dinner. He saw a picture of their daughter. He used religion to get into their home to pose as an investigator.
Tolman: So to get needs met? Food, water, alcohol, drugs, sex?
Smart: Yes to all.
Tolman: Did you observe him use religion to get all those things?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: Did he claim to receive revelation?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: Give blessings to you and Wanda?
Smart: Mainly Wanda, but there were several occasions he gave me a blessing.
Tolman: What was the purpose of the blessings he would give?
[The defense objects]
Tolman: What did you understand the purpose of giving the blessings to be?
Smart: Wanda would get very upset with him and she would just become irate and the only way to calm her down was to turn to her and say that he needed to give her a blessing and in the blessing he would say what a wonderful daughter of God she was and she was going to be a daughter of Zion and heir to the throne and say what a queen she was.
Tolman: Did it have a calming effect?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: Did he get what he wanted through the blessings?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: Did he ever receive revelation to give up drugs, sex, alcohol, porn?
Smart: No.
Tolman: Any religious fast from food, alcohol, sex, water?
Smart: He had a fast from food before. But there also was no food to eat.
Tolman: Ever a word fast where he would not speak for long periods of time?
Smart: No.
Tolman: Ever feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick or afflicted?
Smart: No.
Tolman: Were you ever sick during this nine month period of time?
Smart: There was a time when he gave me too much to drink, which I ended up vomiting all over myself. He let me lie face down in my vomit for the entire night until I woke up the next day.
Tolman: What did he say?
Smart: He said that was showing my true state that I was laying face down in my vomit.
Tolman: Did he ever acknowledge what he was doing was wrong?
Smart: No.
Tolman: Did you ever question him on inconsistencies with values of religion?
Smart: Yes. He said the world was wrong. It was a wicked place. I had been brainwashed by the world and he was the lord's servant and doing the lord's will.
Tolman: You were how old?
Smart: 14
Tolman: Observe him to be manipulative?
Smart: Yes, manipulative.
Tolman: Wanda?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: Did he manipulate you?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: Did he try to manipulate you or try to manipulate others?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: What would he do to try to manipulate them?
Smart: He would not ... there was one younger man in particular who he worked at Wild Oats.
Tolman: Wild Oats the grocery store?
Smart: Yes, the place that now is Whole Foods. He worked there and he used to just run things across the scanner so it looked like he was scanning things but he wasn't. He would put them in a bag and give them to Brian David Mitchell
Tolman: So the individual at the grocer ... he went to him because he could get advantage of him ...
Smart: He wouldn't actually scan them just made it look like he was scanning, so he was stealing from the store. The young man was not -- he was on the edgy side, like he had dyed his hair dark and drank, did drugs, went to raves, to the best of my knowledge that's how he was. Brian never condemned him for doing it, talk about spiritual-related things or religious-related things, talk about god and how god had no respect for a person. I guess this young man felt accepted by Brian. He helped Brian out.
Tolman: Did he turn religion on and off to get what he wanted?
Smart: Yes.
...
Tolman: You indicated the Kemp family. Was that a time when he turned religion on or off? Did he tell you what happened with the Kemps?
Smart: He said that he went to this LDS meeting and that they were just very kind to him and invited to his home for Sunday dinner.
Tolman: What was he wearing with dinner?
Smart: More casual attire, hair pulled back into a ponytail, he had elastic around his beard.
Tolman: Religious-type robe?
Smart: No, regular clothes. He said he pretended to be an investigator in the church and that by doing that they invited him into their home and he saw a picture of a young girl and asked if that was their granddaughter. They laughed and said, 'No that's my daughter. I'm divorced from my first husband. She spends every other weekend and Wednesdays here.'
Tolman: Did he say purpose of the meeting?
Smart: Yes, he said it was to find a second wife.
Tolman: Did he say her age?
Smart: Yes, he said she looked about my age.
Tolman: Did he act differently around those who agreed and disagreed?
Smart: Those who agreed, he would say god bless you and say yes and be agreeable; those who didn't he would ignore or walk away or start singing, or he would call them to repentance.
Tolman: He would walk away or ignore or sing, but he was different if someone agreed or didn't?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: The decision was made to leave Utah and go to San Diego.
Smart: Winter was getting closer and the underground house they were digging was nowhere near being finished. He decided we had to move somewhere warmer, that's what the lord wanted him to do, go find wife number two.
Tolman: Any other reasons?
Smart: As far as I know, to move away for winter and find wife number two.
Tolman: Was it beginning to get cold in Utah?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: When in San Diego, was there an incident where he was arrested?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: What did he say happened?
Smart: We didn't have any food, so he said he was going to go minister, and um, he said that he went down to the little town we were staying nearby, Lakeside. The first thing he did was instead of getting, buying a bus fare, he went to a convenience store and bought a beer and walked around Lakeside. A woman who had a cart, the little wire pull-along things people use. She had some prescription medications on top. He asked for it, she said no, she went into a store, left the cart for a moment, he stole the prescription medicine and took a few pills. I don't know what they were. Then he broke into a church nearby, and I'm not sure what denomination or building it was, broke in, broke a window and he passed out in there because of the alcohol and the drugs. The next morning he was awoken by some police officers. A young woman who worked there had come in, not sure what for, they took him.
Tolman: Arrested him?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: Did he tell you about being booked into jail?
Smart: Yes, he was sitting cross-legged on floor, had some worn-out longjohns, thermal pajamas, under his robe and he had the robe up high. There was a big hole in the crotch of the underwear, right where his private parts were, and he said when they were booking him in, they could see everything and they liked what they saw.
Tolman: Did he have a lawyer?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: What did he say?
Smart: He was a bright young man, and when he went into the judge, he wanted to plead not guilty and the lawyer said he had to plead guilty and pay for the window and do some community service.
Tolman: Did he indicate if he followed the lawyer's advice?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: Where was Wanda?
Smart: Lakeside. She set up camp. It was a holiday weekend when he went out, and I'm not quite sure, President's Day or [Martin Luther King Jr.] day, I don't remember which holiday it was. He had to sit in jail for three days before going before a judge, they had to be business days. It was actually six or seven days before he came back to camp.
Tolman: Did he indicate to the judge you three were staying with friends? Was he lying?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: Did he describe the legal system or charges against him?
Smart: No.
Tolman: Was he ever confused about things?
Smart: No, he was very smart, knew a lot of things.
Tolman: Was he ever bewildered, confused or out of control?
Smart: No.
Tolman: Did you observe him singing?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: Did he sing often?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: Did you observe him to sing to manipulate a situation?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: Did he turn off or on the singing when he needed to?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: Did his desire or compulsion to sing ever get in way of what he wanted?
Smart: No.
Tolman: When he was trying to get sex, food, alcohol, transportation, did he burst into song?
Smart: No.
Defense lawyers: Objection, she didn't hear him.
Tolman: Did you observe him attempt to get sex, food, drug, transportation?
Smart: Yes
Tolman: Did he ever sing so it prevented to get those things?
Smart: No.
...
Smart: There was a time at Salt Lake City Library a person approached him and asked that I remove the veil and cover that they had me wear always. He said I couldn't, it was part of our religion and there was no possible way I could do that.
Tolman: Did he ever burst into singing when confronted by law enforcement
Smart: No.
Tolman: Did you have to intervene because he was not in control or had burst out into singing or because there was some concept he did not understand?
Smart: No.
Tolman: Did you ever get sense that he enjoyed or got a kick out of fooling others?
Smart: Yes. He would be laughing and say, 'They think they're so smart,' or, 'They think they're guiding me to the light and they don't know I'm the king. I know this. I can dance steps around them. They don't know who they're dealing with.'
Tolman: Did he brag about how much he knew about different topics or subjects?
Smart: Yes. He talked about anything that ever came up. He had to be right. He had to know about it. He had to be the authority on that topic.
Tolman: Things religious or not religious?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: Any topic?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: Is it fair to say in that nine-month period of time you came across a number of individuals?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: Considering all these people, did anyone ever suggest that the defendant needed professional help?
Smart: No.
Tolman: That you should get him to a hospital or help?
Smart: No.
Tolman: Did you conclude he was intelligent?
Smart: Yes. He knew a lot about a lot of different things. He told me about his craziest life, about what he did, what he had done. He was very capable, intelligent human being.
Tolman: Was he articulate?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: Was the defendant honest?
Smart: No.
Tolman: Do you believe he was honest?
Smart: No.
Tolman: Did you observe him lie?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: Did it come easy?
Smart: It was easy.
Tolman: Was he convincing?
Smart: To many people, I think so.
Tolman: Were you convinced?
Smart: No.
Tolman: Others were convinced by him?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: You indicated he was determined not to get caught. How determined?
Smart: He said he would kill anyone who came into the camp or kill me if I tried to escape or yell out or do anything not in coordinance with what he wanted. He told me to say that we were traveling and that he was my father and that Wanda was my mother.
Tolman: Did he tell you to refer to them as mother and father in that instance?
Smart: Yes. He told me to say I had been home schooled and that we traveled around ministering to different people.
Tolman: Did he have a name for you?
Smart: Yes, Augustine Marshall.
Tolman: He told you to use that name?
Smart: Yes?
Tolman: Do you know how he came up with name?
Smart: It was after the month August.
Tolman: Did he have a name for Wanda?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: What name?
Smart: Juliette.
Tolman: Was there a meaning behind her name?
Smart: The month of July.
Tolman: Did he have names for himself?
Smart: Yes, there was his name Immanuel David, prophet Isaiah and then David Sherlson. ... David was his middle name and his father was Sherl, so Sherl's son. When he was booked into San Diego he used a different name.
Tolman: Did he tell you the name?
Smart: Michael Jensen.
Tolman: Did he ever quiz you on what you were to say?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: Did he ever introduce you to others as his bride?
Smart: No.
Tolman: Did he publicly acknowledge you were his bride?
Smart: No.
Tolman: Ever say he was commanded to marry several individuals? Did he tell anyone else?
Smart: No.
Tolman: Did he tell anyone else he was to plunder girls and use them as brides?
Smart: No.
Tolman: Did he tell you and Wanda that?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: Did you observe him talk his way out of situations with law enforcement?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: How was he in an argument?
Smart: Forceful.
Tolman: Was he quick on his feet?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: Could he adapt to his surroundings?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: Did you observe him adapt to the people he was with or the circumstance he was in?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: Did he indicate he had studied psychology, mind control and hypnosis?
Smart: Yes. He spoke about how people thought and he talked about a time in his life when he was in southern Utah. He was with his brother and he had some books that he had been reading that were on hypnosis and witchcraft, I think.
Tolman: Did he ever tell you about getting away with things in his past?
Smart: Yes. He talked about how in high school he was one of the graduating seniors and there was a girl who was younger and she was physically mature for her age and he came up behind her and stuck his hand down her shirt and walked away and nothing ever happened. And he talked about his two previous marriages and how he had been accused with molesting his second wife's youngest daughter and how nothing ever happened, how he was able to walk away from that.
Tolman: Did he ever talk about being able to walk away from financial debt or other obligations?
Smart: Yes. And he talked about how he had walked away from an apartment lease and from a big fifth wheel trailer they took up to Idaho they stopped making payments and just left it on some property and walked away from it. He talked about how the LDS Church had called an excommunication hearing and how he just never showed up to it and so he walked away from that and he talked about how his mother had gotten a restraining order put on him and he didn't care, he just walked away from that.
Tolman: Elizabeth, are you aware he was writing a book, the book of Immanuel David Isaiah?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: Are you aware he wrote in this book after he was captured?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: Did he try to convince you that you held the key?
Smart: No
Tolman: Did he try to convince you he could have gotten away?
Smart: No.
Tolman: Did he try to convince you that your parents invited him to their home that night?
Smart: No.
Tolman: That they removed the lock from door and turned off the security alarm?
Smart: No.
Tolman: Did he tell you or Wanda, or convince you, you had opened the window for him to get into the house?
Smart: No.
Tolman: Did he try to convince you you had heard the lord's command of wanting to go with him, that's why you did?
Smart: No.
Tolman: Would he have been able to convince you that any of these claims were true?
Smart: No.
Tolman: This was at all times against your will?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: Did he acknowledge what he was doing was against the law?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: Did he have knowledge of the legal system?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: Did he have knowledge of the government?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: Did he have knowledge of what would happen to you if he was caught?
Smart: Yes.
Tolman: What words would you use to describe Brian David Mitchell?
Smart: Evil, wicked, manipulative, sneaky, slimy, selfish, greedy, not spiritual, not religious, not close to God.
[Cross examination by Assistant Federal Defendant Robert L. Steele begins.]
Steele: You talked about a concern about getting caught that first night outside of your house. Talk about that. You said he pulled you down behind a bush. Why?
Smart: There was a passing cop car, and he didn't want to be caught.
Steele: What did he say after the cop car passed?
Smart: To the best of my memory, 'The lord is with us.'
...
Steele: He performed a marriage ceremony that night. Was it lengthy or short?
Smart: Short.
Steele: What did he say?
Smart: He just said that in the power that was vested in him, I would be bound on heaven as is on Earth to be wife. I screamed, 'No.' That didn't have any effect on him. He said if I was going to scream, he would kill me.
Steele: I'm sure that was shocking, the marriage ceremony. I bet you didn't see that coming at all. He spent a lot of time talking, he spent a lot of time speaking?
Smart: Yes.
Steele: When?
Smart: Throughout the day.
Steele: What kinds of things did he talk about?
Smart: He talked about a lot of things. He talked about his past experiences, he talked about his previous marriages, talked about me [inaudible] Wanda, talked about the first time he saw me, the future, talked about how we would all appear when he came out of hiding so to speak, talked about the different jobs and occupations he had held, he talked about a lot of things.
Steele: You know an awful lot about Mr. Mitchell and Wanda Barzee.
Smart: Yes.
Steele: They told you their whole life story. Their marriages -- they had several -- their children's names.
Smart: Yes.
Steele: He told you good stuff about himself and bad stuff about himself?
Smart: Yes
Steele: What did he tell you about the government?
Smart: The government was corrupt and served the devil and was of the world, and that America had fallen from being a God-fearing country and they were no longer.
Steele: What did he tell you about the LDS Church?
Smart: He said that the LDS church will be punished more than anyone because they have the most light and truth and have the knowledge, and are not willing to live it. That when the time had come that many of them would have the strength to break away and follow him.
Steele: What did he think he was? What did he tell you?
Smart: He told me that he was a prophet. He was the Davidic king. He said he was God's voice on the Earth and he would reign over the children of God until Christ came, continue to be Christ's mouthpiece for the world.
Steele: Did he talk about the Antichrist?
Smart: Yes.
Steele: What was his position with the Antichrist?
Smart: He said he would one day fight the Antichrist.
Steele: What was the outcome of all that?
Smart: He would be the one to kill the Antichrist.
Steele: He read you the book of Immanuel David Isaiah?
Smart: Yes.
Steele: He read it. How many times?
Smart: Yes, I don't know if I could put a number on it.
Steele: Did you pray together every day, sing?
Smart: Yes.
Steele: What kinds of things?
Smart: Wanda had compiled a book of religious songs, the songs he had compiled.
Steele: How much time of the day?
Smart: Depends on the day. Sometimes just one or two songs, sometimes no singing, sometimes if he was working he would sing, or if uh, he just -- there was usually a reason. It wasn't just because he couldn't contain himself. He felt like singing. He wanted to sing.
Steele: You sang with him?
Smart: It wasn't a duet, so to say. We all sang together before we prayed.
Some ladies can get that last lick in and have lunch at the same time:
Authorities say a Houston-area woman who was burned up at her former common-law husband fried their pet goldfish and ate some of them. Pasadena police say it's a civil matter and no charges will be filed. The seven goldfish were purchased together by the couple during happier times.Police spokesman Vance Mitchell says the man reported on Saturday that the woman took the goldfish from his apartment.
Mitchell says the two argued earlier about some jewelry the man had given her but took back. She wanted the jewelry returned.
Officers who were dispatched to the woman's home arrived to find four fried goldfish on a plate. The woman said she already ate the other three.
He took the jewelry back? That just isn't done.
But now his crayolas keep melting:
A Florida death-row inmate convicted of abducting and murdering 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford in 2005 has died, prison officials said Wednesday.
John Couey had been sentenced to death for killing 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford in Florida in 2005.John Couey had been sentenced to death for killing 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford in Florida in 2005.
John Evander Couey, 51, died at 11:15 a.m. ET of natural causes, a Florida Department of Corrections spokeswoman told CNN. He had been taken to a Jacksonville, Florida, hospital from Florida State Prison in Starke, Florida.
Because of privacy laws, no further information could be released by the Department of Corrections.
A source close to the case told CNN that Couey's death was not unexpected and he had been ill for some time.
"I never dreamed it would happen like this," Jessica's father, Mark Lunsford, told CNN. He said he never thought he would live long enough to see Couey put to death because of the lengthy appeals process.
He said he was sad when he heard the news of Couey's death. "To me, death is sad," he said. "But her death, Jessie's death, has been redeemed ... I'm relieved. I'm glad it's over with."
Couey was sentenced to die in August 2007 for abducting and raping Lunsford, then killing her by burying her alive. The girl was snatched from her bed in her family's Homosassa, Florida, home the evening of February 23, 2005, by Couey, a registered sex offender. Her body was found three weeks later, buried at the home of Couey's half-sister, who lived within sight of the Lunsford home.
The girl's body was wrapped in plastic garbage bags, and her hands were bound with speaker wire. She was clutching a stuffed dolphin -- a toy won for her at a state fair by her father, and which Couey allowed her to bring with her when she was abducted.
Let us say goodbye to the man who managed to ratchet up hideousness to a whole new level.
