Disappearance of Christina Marie Williams

Christina Marie Williams was a 13-year-old American girl who was kidnapped in Seaside, California, on June 12, 1998, while walking her dog Greg in an area of Fort Ord. Early life: Williams was born in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, to a Filipino mother and an American father who was a chief petty officer in the United States Navy. She attended Fitch Middle School in Seaside, California, at the time of her abduction. Before moving to California, Williams and her family lived at Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan. It was the first time the family had lived in the mainland United States. Kidnapping: Williams left her home at around 7:30 p.m. PDT. Greg returned home an hour later trailing his leash. The case attracted widespread, national media attention. Exactly seven months later, a body was found on the former Fort Ord Army Base about 3 miles (4.8 km) from the Williams' home on January 12, 1999. The remains were positively identified as those of Williams. The area where she was found had been searched previously, but nothing had been found. Sketches of people suspected of the abduction, a man in his late teens and one in his early twenties, were widely released in the media but they did not help identification of the suspects. Aftermath: Several celebrities, including Clint Eastwood, Mariah Carey, and Reggie Jackson, made a public service announcement for Williams. Her case was also aired on America's Most Wanted. Williams was survived by her parents, and two siblings. Many people, including Williams' former friends in Japan, were affected by her abduction. Her family later moved to Florida. Investigators focused their efforts on finding a 1980s Mercury Monarch or Ford Granada car. In 2006, the still-open case was featured on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360°. Up to US$100,000 has been offered for information leading to those responsible for her death. The City of Marina erected a memorial in Williams' honor located at 15520 Imjin Road, across from Preston Park. At University of California, Berkeley a scholarship in her name was established by a philanthropist. Suspect and arrest: It was reported that Charles Holifield was a suspect in Williams' murder. He remains in prison for attempted kidnapping; he had raped teenage girls in the past. In 2011, an ex-girlfriend of Holifield recanted an alibi for Holifield she made in 1998, saying she had previously been threatened with harm if she withdrew it. On April 6th, 2017 the District Attorney of Monterey County announced that Holifield would be arrested and charged with the murder.

Woodlawn Jane Doe

Woodlawn Jane Doe was a young woman who was discovered murdered on September 12, 1976, in Woodlawn, Baltimore County, Maryland. The victim has been linked to regions in Massachusetts and New York. Various investigations have been conducted in the case. Recent developments have indicated she was possibly a teenage immigrant from Central or South America who had lived in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, although the family of the individual has yet to be located. In 2016, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children released the detail that she may have used the names "Jasmine" or "Jassy" when alive. Despite extensive efforts, her body has never been identified. The murderer, or murderers, have never been apprehended. Discovery of the body: On September 12, 1976, at 10:20 a.m., the body of a 15- to 30-year-old woman was found partially wrapped in a white sheet. She had been beaten, strangled, and raped. The rape had been severe, as it caused bleeding that had seeped into her clothing. She likely died at a different location and had been transported to the side of Dogwood Road near the back gate of a cemetery. It is possible that a Ford Econoline van may be linked to the case, as one was seen near the location of the body an hour before it was found. The victim wore a turquoise-colored stone bead tied to a rawhide string as a necklace. Also in her possession were two brass keys (one believed to be for a house and the other for a "night latch") that were found attached to a safety pin in one of the pockets of a pair of tan-yellow jeans. She wore a white and tan shirt, a white bra, and distinctive knee-high socks with multi-colored stripes. A single, light tan moccasin with twine laces and a rubber sole was found near the body; it is believed to have been worn by the victim. Other pieces of cloth were also found on the body. Two bandannas and a bag for grass seeds were found over her face. These had been fastened behind her neck in a square knot. One bandanna was blue and white, and the other was orange and white. The orange-and-white bandanna was found to have holes cut in it to fit the locations of her eyes and nose. Besides the bag over her face, a piece of the grass seed bag was found in her throat. This was determined to have been the cause of her death, along with ligature strangulation. The bag read "Farm Bureau Association Grass Seed, Lexington, Mass." Additionally, the hands had been bound behind her back with some sort of "bandage" in noticeably high-quality knots. An extremely large amount of a sedative drug, chlorpromazine, was found in the victim's stomach. Chlorpromazine is used to treat schizophrenia, which led to a theory linking the victim, or those responsible for her murder, to a mental institution. Additionally, the sheet that was wrapped around her body was consistent with those provided at inpatient institutions. Examination: Examiners measured the victim and concluded that she weighed between 149 and 159 pounds and was 5 feet 6 to 5 feet 9 inches tall. The blood type of the victim was determined to be O positive. There had been evidence that she had been treated by a dentist. The victim had three of her molars removed and had fillings in the remaining five. Because of the amount and quality of the dental care, authorities surmised that she did not come from a background of poverty. One of her other teeth was crooked. A poorly tattooed pair of letters, possibly initials, was found on her left arm. It contained two letters, believed to be JP, SS, JB or a similar letter combination. She had her ears pierced and a scar on her upper right thigh. A widow's peak was noted on the victim's forehead. She had dark brown to black, shoulder-length hair with a wavy texture and brown eyes. She had a dark olive complexion. The exact race and ethnicity of the victim puzzled investigators and medical examiners, but it is believed that she may have been white. Investigation: Shortly after the body was found, fingerprint and dental information were collected to establish its identity. Her fingerprints were added to national databases, as well as her dental chart. Yet no match has ever been made. Many missing women from across the United States have since been eliminated as possible identities for Woodlawn Jane Doe. The county police department currently offers a cash reward of two thousand dollars for information about this case. A notable case was that of Maria "Mia" Anjiras, a teen that had run away from her Connecticut home in February 1976. The victim's face has been reconstructed multiple times for release to the public. Three versions exist that were rendered by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Other of her sketches also exist. The local police department provided an age-regression and an additional reconstruction, created by Eve Grant, hoping to provide an estimation of her appearance at a younger age (in case she was "a runaway" or someone knew her at an earlier period of her life). One of the keys which the victim carried was made in Fitchburg, Massachusetts and had "DB09212" stamped onto it. The grass seed bag was connected to a factory in Buffalo, New York. It had been sold exclusively in the Massachusetts cities of Waltham, Rochdale, Lowell, South Weymouth, and Greenfield. Years before the murder, production of this type of bag had been halted. Forensic pollen analysis of the items found with the body indicated she had spent time in a populous area, such as Boston, Massachusetts, or New York, New York. These results were aided by the detection of cedar and hemlock pollen, which possibly originated from a site such as the New York Botanical Garden or Harvard University. The case has been featured on America's Most Wanted. Leads were processed but did not lead to the victim's identity or that to her killer or killers. A break in the case was announced in December 2015 by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children after the Baltimore County police received a tip. A suitable match was discovered, being described as a Puerto Rican or Colombian teenager that had moved to Boston, Massachusetts with her parents and as many as five siblings. The explanation for the tattoo of "JP" on her arm was announced to possibly be the initials for a part of the city, known as "Jamaica Plain" where the possible match lived, on "Forbes Street." Potential school locations were also included. The department has had difficulties finding the relatives of the girl, putting the investigation on hold. On the 40th anniversary of her discovery, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children released an updated reconstruction of the victim.

Disappearance of Susan Smalley and Stacie Madison

Susan Renee Smalley and Stacie Elisabeth Madison are two young women from Carrollton, Texas who disappeared on the morning of March 20, 1988. Disappearance: Stacie Madison worked as a receptionist, and she was also planning to study business at the University of North Texas. On the night of March 19, 1988, Madison stayed at her friend Susan Smalley's house overnight. They both briefly left the house for a short time in Smalley's car, a 1967 Mustang convertible that Smalley had recently purchased with the money that she had earned from working two jobs, which was painted the same colors of their school. Later they were both seen attempting to purchase alcohol at a 7-11, but it was not sold to them since they were minors. It is known that they had returned to the house again shortly after because a friend of Smalley's heard from her at around about midnight, but they left the house again shortly after, because the car that belonged to Madison was no longer parked in front of the house where they were staying. The last time anyone saw the girls was at restaurant called The Steak and Ale which is also where Smalley worked as a waitress. An employee there told investigators that Smalley had been talking to another co-worker, during which time Madison waited in the parked car. The next morning, the girls were reported as missing. The vehicle that the they were riding in was found abandoned in a parking lot of a shopping center in Dallas, Texas. Also found in the vehicle were the personal belongings of both girls. When last seen, Madison was wearing white cotton pants, a long sleeved white sweatshirt with a pink and orange logo, and white tennis shoes, and Smalley was wearing a white sweater, blue jeans, and was also carrying a navy blue shoulder bag with camel trim. Investigation and aftermath: About two months after Madison and Smalley went missing, Smalley's boyfriend told a girl that he was dating that he had killed them both, and then had dumped them in a cemetery that was nearby. When the girl heard this, she called the police. Smalley's boyfriend underwent a polygraph test and passed it. He later settled in Florida, where he moved from town to town for over a decade. Attempts to contact him have been unsuccessful. The police also asked a psychic about the case, and he told the detectives that the girls were murdered by a white male who was between the ages 28 of 34, and had blond hair and eyeglasses, and that he had dumped them near Lake Grapevine. However, nothing was found when a search of the area he described was conducted. Foul play is possible in their disappearances, and it is also believed that they may have been abducted and then taken to Mexico. The case is still active.

halloween parties

i love Halloween parties. they're awesome. i love Halloween.

change it up a bit

i'm thinking i'll go as Dracula to a party if i go. i got invited to a Halloween party and if i go i'll go as Dracula. i love Dracula and i have the stuff for it. plus i've been Carrie for a few years

questions

i've got so many questions in regards to my possible mission. like why are my parents going to allow me to go and why did my family do an abrupt about face when it comes to this type of thing? they didn't want me to convert but then they are ok with it? very strange.

doing what i love

i love several things such as forensic science, skateboarding, dancing and doing sign language. some of these things are very physical and i sometimes don't have the stamina to do them because of my back but i'm able to push thru sometimes.

CeCe McDonald

CeCe McDonald is an African American bi-trans woman and LGBTQ activist from Minneapolis, Minnesota. She came to national attention in June 2012 for accepting a plea bargain of 41 months for second-degree manslaughter of a man she stabbed after McDonald and her friends were assaulted outside a bar near closing time. The attack, a year prior, was widely seen as racist and transphobic, and became physical when McDonald was struck in the face by the man's friend with "an alcoholic drink" glass causing a bleeding gash that needed stitches. According to Mother Jones, when McDonald was getting away from the bar the man came after her, she "took a pair of scissors out of her purse and turned around to face him; he was stabbed in the chest and died from the wound." McDonald said she saw how her case was progressing so took the plea bargain rather than face trial and risk a possible 20-year term. According to the Bay Area Reporter her conviction "sparked outrage, and was viewed by many as an act of transphobia and racism against a woman who defended herself." Although she is a woman McDonald was housed in two men's prisons. An online petition "led to the state department of corrections administering the full regimen of hormones she needed." Her story got international attention including in May 2013 when an Ebony.com article about the case won the GLAAD Media Award for "Outstanding Digital Journalism Article", she also received support from transgender activist and actress Laverne Cox, star of Orange Is the New Black which includes story lines about trans women of color and hate crimes. Cox says McDonald is the image she has of her OITNB character, Sophia Burset, and that she plays Burset as a homage to McDonald. Cox also identifies with her experiences, "So many times I've ... been harassed, any of them could have escalated ... I very easily could be CeCe." McDonald was released in January 2014 after serving 19 months. She was profiled in Rolling Stone among other publications and included as part of Advocate's annual "40 Under 40" list. FREE CeCe, a documentary about McDonald's experiences told through interviews by Laverne Cox, started production in December 2013. The film centers on the attack on McDonald and her friends including the stabbing, her imprisonment, and violence experienced by trans women of color. In August 2014 she was awarded the Bayard Rustin Civil Rights Award by the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club. Early life: McDonald, who was born in 1989 and is originally from south Chicago, studied fashion at Minneapolis Community and Technical College. Assault- Background: At around 11:30pm on June 5, 2011, McDonald, her roommate Latavia Taylor, and their friends Larry Tyaries Thomas, Zavawn Smith, and Roneal Harris, all of whom are African-American, walked the half-mile from McDonald and Taylor's apartment to a Cub Foods to buy groceries. On the way, a police officer briefly stopped and questioned the group without provocation, he then followed them for a short time and departed. Assault and attacks (June 2011): McDonald said she and her friends were confronted outside the Schooner Tavern by Dean Schmitz and others. According to the charges against McDonald, this occurred shortly after midnight. Schmitz, his girlfriend Jenny Thoreson, and his ex-girlfriend Molly Flaherty had stepped out of the bar for a cigarette. McDonald said they shouted racist and transphobic slurs, while Thoreson, in interviews with police, characterized the remarks as derogatory and sarcastic. Thomas recalled Schmitz, Thoreson, and Flaherty saying "oh you faggots, you nigger lovers, and whoop-de-woo, you ain't nothing but a bunch of nigger babies," and that in response he went over to talk to Schmitz. According to Thomas, Schmitz then walked off and "started talking this stuff, like, 'Oh, look at the tranny over there, look at that tranny.'" McDonald said in a letter from Hennepin County jail that Schmitz called everyone in McDonald's group the n-word. McDonald testified that she and her friends tried to walk away, but that Flaherty started a fight by smashing a glass of alcohol against her face, cutting her and requiring 11 stitches. McDonald was asked in court whether Flaherty then said "I can take on all of you bitches", to which she replied in the affirmative; Thoreson recalled that at this point Flaherty threw the first punch. According to McDonald's testimony, at one point Schmitz said "look at that boy dressed like a girl and tucking her dick in". David Crandell, Flaherty's boyfriend, then stepped out of the bar to find multiple members of McDonald's group attacking Flaherty, and tried to pull them away from her. Gary Gilbert, a security worker at the Schooner Tavern, recalled seeing Schmitz pull McDonald away from Flaherty, and that Schmitz and McDonald then moved into the street. McDonald's defense characterized this move as McDonald having "attempted to leave the scene, attempted to get out of harm's way", and added that she was followed by Schmitz. Gilbert recalled that McDonald appeared to be holding a blade, while Schmitz had his fists clenched and said to McDonald "you gonna stab me, you bitch?" Schmitz then hunched over, put his hand to his shirt and said "you stabbed me," to which McDonald replied, according to a witness, "Yes I did." Schmitz was stabbed in the chest with a pair of scissors. McDonald told police that Schmitz charged at her, running into scissors she was holding. After those present saw Schmitz bleeding, the fighting stopped; McDonald and Thomas ran towards Cub Foods while some of their friends boarded a Metro Transit bus. Schmitz's wound was more than three inches deep and pierced his heart in the right ventricle. Anthony Stoneburg, who was in the neighborhood visiting his aunt, tried to plug the wound, but Schmitz died in the ambulance. In the parking lot of the grocery store, McDonald saw the police car searching for her and flagged the officers down. She was arrested and confessed to the stabbing, but in her letter from Hennepin County jail wrote that confessing was "a big mistake for trying to cover up for one of my friends who actually did it. I didn't know exactly who, but I knew someone was defending me." Larry Thomas and Zavawn Smith also said that another friend, who they saw running away from the scene at the time, had admitted stabbing Schmitz. Pretrial period: In the days following the stabbing, the office of Hennepin County Attorney Michael Freeman reviewed evidence including a taped confession from McDonald before charging her with two counts of second-degree murder. McDonald's case was picked up by Hersch Izek of the Legal Rights Center, a nonprofit organization offering legal representation and help for its clients. Izek did not dispute that McDonald stabbed Schmitz in the heart or that the wound was responsible for Schmitz's death; however he argued that McDonald acted in self-defense and was not to blame for Schmitz's death: "she stabbed him, but her actions were reasonable when confronted with the reasonable possibility of bodily harm or death to herself. That's what the jury instruction calls for in this kind of case." Izek cited the fact that McDonald was bleeding profusely from her facial wound as a reason for her to believe she was in danger. Freeman argued there was no evidence that Schmitz posed a threat to McDonald's life and that McDonald had failed to exercise her duty to retreat, saying "the evidence here does not reflect self-defense. She stepped forward to thrust a weapon into a person that had not assaulted her. That, to me, just doesn't fit." Freeman also said "there is no evidence that I'm aware of that Schmitz had any weapon in his hand, or that he had done anything to McDonald, other than to be part of this group, where there were shouts from virtually everyone around." Freeman also alleged that McDonald's story changed between the incident and her trial: though on the night of June 5 she confessed to stabbing Schmitz, she later claimed someone else had stabbed him. The defense also intended to bring before the jury details about Schmitz, including that he had faced more than two dozen criminal cases since turning 18; his past convictions for fifth-degree assault and domestic assault; that methamphetamine and benzoylecgonine (a cocaine metabolite), which when combined can lead to unpredictable and unwarranted violence, were found in his system; and that he had a tattoo of a swastika on his chest. Schmitz's brother said Schmitz was not a racist, but that he had become a part of a group of white supremacists while in prison when he was younger. Freeman dismissed the tattoo as irrelevant, saying McDonald "couldn't see it, nor could anyone else ... It adds a little bit of sensationalism to the case, obviously." On the first day of pretrial hearings, the prosecution disputed the admittance of Schmitz's tattoo, arguing it was not relevant and was unfairly prejudicial. Judge Daniel Moreno ruled that Schmitz's tattoo and his three previous convictions for assault were not admissible as evidence of his alleged violent disposition, that McDonald's supporters could not wear "Free CeCe" T-shirts in court, and that the defense's toxicology expert could testify to the effects of methamphetamine and benzoylecgonine in general but not their effects on Schmitz on the night in question. Moreno also prevented experts from testifying about the atmosphere of transphobia and how it might have made McDonald fear for her life. Moreno also permitted the admittance of McDonald's prior statements on blogs and Facebook and a motion to impeach McDonald's testimony due to her previous conviction for writing a bad check. Media and public attention during pre-trial: In the aftermath of the stabbing, Schmitz's family spoke to FOX 9 News. Schmitz's son, Jeremy Williams, said his father "always used to go out of his way to help people... He would give the shirt off his back to help people. He was, overall, a great person." In her letter from Hennepin County jail, McDonald said "none of this mess wouldn't be happening if it weren't for the victim and his group being rude and disrespectful to people they never knew." In April 2012, author Kate Bornstein spoke about McDonald on MSNBC cable television program Melissa Harris-Perry, comparing McDonald's situation with George Zimmerman's in the aftermath of the shooting of Trayvon Martin regarding self-defense issues and how the case is viewed through the media focus. The case also attracted national attention from LGBT activists including author Leslie Feinberg, who wrote that "the right of self-defense against all forms of oppressions—the spirit of Stonewall—is at the heart of the demand to free [McDonald]". Cam Gordon, a member of the Minneapolis City Council, announced his support for McDonald and called the incident "another example of transgender women of color being targeted for hate- and bias-related violence", and Susan Allen, a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, called on Freeman to consider the "extenuating circumstances" of McDonald's case. In May 2013, an article by Marc Lamont Hill for Ebony.com entitled "Why Aren't We Fighting for CeCe McDonald?" won the GLAAD Media Award for "Outstanding Digital Journalism Article". McDonald also received the support of transgender activist and actress Laverne Cox, who stars in the television series Orange Is the New Black. A May 2012 press release by McDonald's support committee said the sentencing proceedings included statements from community leaders, clergy, and members of McDonald's family. McDonald's supporters held dance parties and rallies outside the Hennepin County jail in her honor, and over 18,000 people signed a Change.org petition calling for Freeman to drop the charges against McDonald. In June 2012, a group calling itself the "Queer Attack Squadron" claimed responsibility for a Portland, Oregon incident throwing an unlit molotov cocktail through the window of a Wells Fargo bank as a gesture of solidarity with McDonald. Katie Burgess, executive director of the Trans Youth Support Network, said the group had no connection to McDonald's supporters in Minneapolis. Burgess said the growth in support for McDonald and her self-defense argument was due to the perception McDonald was "on trial for surviving a hate crime." Plea bargain (May 2012): Days before the trial was to begin, Moreno offered a plea bargain under which McDonald's charges of second-degree murder would be reduced to second-degree manslaughter, and under which she would have to admit only to criminal negligence rather than murder. On May 2, 2012, the defense and prosecution agreed on a 41-month sentence, the minimum sentence for second-degree manslaughter, as a compromise. In accepting the plea deal, McDonald had to relinquish her argument that she killed Schmitz in self-defense or by accident, and had to forego a trial by jury. McDonald said she accepted the plea deal for her loved ones: instead of risking decades in prison, the deal was expected to result in her being freed in a fraction of the time. On June 4, 2012, Moreno sentenced McDonald to 41 months in prison. At her sentencing hearing McDonald told the court "I'm sure that to Dean's family, he was a loving, caring person, but that is not what I saw that night. I saw a racist, transphobic, narcissistic bigot who did not have any regard for my friends and I." McDonald was given credit for 245 days' jail time, and required to pay $6,410 in restitution for Schmitz's funeral expenses. Imprisonment: While awaiting trial, McDonald was held in segregated custody and spent time under house arrest. In May 2012, Michael Friedman of the Legal Rights Center said there was "no way" McDonald would be "sent to a women's prison." Burgess said "People tend to think about how CeCe identifies as a woman and say she should be able to go to a women's facility ... But there's really no history of transgender people being placed according to their gender identity. So once CeCe is placed in a permanent facility, she'll look around and decide if she feels safe there. If she doesn't, she'll move forward with a civil suit against the Department of Corrections to be relocated to a safer place. That may or may not be a women's prison." After she was sentenced, McDonald expressed resignation, saying "I've faced worse things in my life than prison." Following her conviction, a spokeswoman for the Minnesota Department of Corrections said officials had decided to place McDonald in the Minnesota Correctional Facility – St. Cloud, an adult male facility, though her final destination had yet to be determined; and that the state would make its own determination of McDonald's gender. The state's gender assessment concluded that McDonald would be held in a men's facility. During her imprisonment a petition caused the Department of Corrections to administer the correct regimen of hormones. Despite being transferred to a second facility McDonald remained quartered with men throughout her imprisonment. Flaherty assault case: Flaherty, Schmitz's ex-girlfriend who was among those verbally assaulting McDonald and her friends outside the bar, was charged in May 2012 with second-degree assault with a deadly weapon and third-degree assault causing substantial bodily harm for attacking McDonald with "an alcoholic drink" glass causing a bleeding gash to her face needing eleven stitches. Her case was referred to the Washington County Attorney's Office in order to avoid a conflict of interest. In April 2013, Flaherty was sentenced to six months' jail time and probation after pleading guilty to third-degree assault, and was given credit for 135 days served in jail. Release (January 2014): McDonald was released on January 13, 2014, after serving 19 months and will remain under the supervision of the Minnesota Department of Corrections through her 41-month sentence. Laverne Cox was among those who greeted her. Roxanne Anderson, the program director for the Trans Youth Support Network, said "CeCe is doing great. She looks good and she is good spirits," and that McDonald was not ready to comment publicly. Chase Strangio, a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, said "This is a day to celebrate, and to honor CeCe for all she's done from the day of her arrest to draw attention to the systemic violence women of color, and particularly LGBT women of color face everyday. Her message from the start was not to sensationalize the story, but to bring attention to the issue." McDonald gave her first televised interview six days later on Melissa Harris-Perry on MSNBC. McDonald spoke about her incarceration and those of other incarcerated transgender people, saying "I felt like they wanted me to hate myself as a trans woman," and added "prisons aren’t safe for anyone, and that's the key issue." The segment also featured Katie Burgess, who said "the only way that trans folks are going to be safe in prisons is for incarceration of people to end." Post-incarceration: In 2014, McDonald was profiled by the Rolling Stone and included as part of the Advocate's annual "40 Under 40" list. In August 2014 she was awarded the Bayard Rustin Civil Rights Award by the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club. In 2016, McDonald teamed up with gender non-conforming activist and prison abolitionist Joshua Allen for a Black Excellence Tour. FREE CeCe!: FREE CeCe, a documentary about McDonald by Laverne Cox and Jac Gares, started production in August 2013. The film is told through an interview with McDonald conducted by Cox, and deals with the events in 2011, McDonald's imprisonment and violence experienced by trans women of color. FREE CeCe was the kick-off film at the 2016 San Francisco Transgender Film Festival, the world's first and longest-running transgender film festival. Jac Gares, a New York City filmmaker, directed the film with Cox as executive producer. Gares had previously produced the LGBT PBS series In The Life and raised $300,000 to fund FREE CeCe.

Murders of Rachel and Lillian Entwistle

Neil Entwistle is an English man convicted of murdering his American wife, Rachel, and their infant daughter, Lillian, on 20 January 2006 in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole and is incarcerated at Old Colony Correctional Center in Massachusetts. Background: Entwistle was born near Nottingham and attended the University of York, receiving a master's degree in electronic engineering. He grew up in Worksop with his parents Clifford and Yvonne, and his younger brother, Russell. His home was working class; his father was a coal miner and his mother a cook at a school cafeteria. While at university, Entwistle met Rachel Souza, an American who was studying abroad. They married on 23 August 2003 in Plymouth. They then lived in Worcestershire, where their daughter Lillian was born on 9 April 2005. Entwistle worked in computing and his wife as a teacher of English, Drama and Theatre Studies at St. Augustine's Catholic High School in Redditch. After migrating to the United States, the couple stayed with Rachel's mother and stepfather, Joseph and Priscilla Matterazzo, in Carver, Massachusetts, before finding a house of their own in Hopkinton. Murders: The bodies of 27-year-old Rachel and 9-month-old Lillian were found on 22 January 2006 in the master bedroom of the family's rented home where they had been living for only ten days. Autopsy results showed that Rachel died of a gunshot wound to the head and Lillian of a gunshot wound to the torso. The bullet that passed through Lillian also pierced Rachel's left breast. The bullets were so small that the one in Rachel's head went undetected until the autopsy. Hours after the deaths of his wife and daughter, Entwistle purchased a one-way ticket to London at about 5:00 p.m. (EST) on 21 January and boarded a British Airways flight that departed Boston at 8:15 p.m. Entwistle's speedy departure from the scene of the deaths of his family was not the only reason he raised suspicion. Entwistle's DNA was found on the handle of the same .22 handgun owned by his father-in-law that he told authorities he had only used once, months earlier, while practising at Matterazzo's shooting club. DNA matching that of his wife was found on the gun's muzzle. A set of keys to Materazzo's house were found in the car Entwistle left at Boston's Logan airport. A search of Entwistle's computer revealed that, days before the murders, he had looked at a website that described "how to kill people", and searched for escort services. Contrary to outward appearances, Entwistle had been unemployed since September 2005 and was indebted at the time of the murders. Though he claimed an income of $10,000 per month from an "offshore account" set up by his previous employer in the U.K., he had no such income or account. He was also more than $30,000 in credit card debt, and was under investigation by eBay for numerous fraudulent transactions. Authorities suspected a financial motivation for the murders. Investigation and evidence: On the evening of 21 January, the day after the murder is believed to have been committed, police officers visited the Entwistles' home after Rachel's friend reported her missing. Though the police conducted a cursory inspection of the house, they failed to notice Rachel's and Lillian's bodies, obscured under a pile of bedding in the master bedroom. A second and more thorough search, the following evening, discovered their bodies. On 23 January, a Massachusetts State Police trooper called Entwistle at his parents' home in Worksop. The call lasted two hours and was recorded. Entwistle told the trooper that, on the morning of the murders, he had left his Hopkinton home at around 9:00 a.m. (EST) to run an errand, and that his wife and daughter had both been alive and well, in the bed in the couple's master bedroom. He claimed that when he returned, at around 11:00 a.m., he found both had been shot dead, and had no idea who had killed them. He covered their bodies with a blanket, and did not alert authorities. Entwistle told the police that he was so distraught upon seeing the corpses of his wife and daughter that he decided to kill himself. However, because he was unable to bring himself to end his life with a knife, he drove the family car to his father-in-law Joseph Materazzo's house to get a .22LR caliber revolver. Finding the Materazzos' house locked, he told police that he then decided to fly home to England to see his parents. Police subsequently named Entwistle as a person of interest in the investigation, and later issued an international arrest warrant. On 9 February 2006, Entwistle was arrested on a London Underground train at Royal Oak station, following a detailed search of his parents' house. After an initial request that he not be sent back to the United States, he later agreed to be extradited. Middlesex County district attorney Martha Coakley (who had successfully prosecuted British au pair Louise Woodward in 1997) told a press conference after Entwistle's arrest: On Thursday night 19 January 2006, Rachel was alive and had spoken with family members. At some time on Friday morning, Neil Entwistle—with a firearm we believe he had secured at sometime before that from father-in-law Joseph Materazzo—shot Rachel Entwistle in the head and then proceeded to shoot baby Lillian, who was lying on the bed next to her mother. We believe possibly this was intended to be a murder-suicide, but we cannot confirm that. Obviously the murder was effected, but the suicide was not. What we believe happened next was that Neil Entwistle returned the gun to his father-in-law's home in Carver, then made preparations to leave the country. As we know, he was observed at Logan International Airport. He purchased a one-way ticket on British Airways at approximately 5:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, January 22. He was on an 8:15 a.m. flight to the United Kingdom on that day. Based upon forensic information late Tuesday afternoon that linked the .22 handgun owned by Joseph Materazzo both to Neil Entwistle and to Rachel, we believed we had probable cause to seek an arrest warrant for Neil Entwistle's arrest. Arrest and events prior to trial: Rachel and Lillian Entwistle were buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Kingston, Massachusetts, with the surname Souza on their graves. They were buried in a single coffin. On 8 February 2006, a week after their funerals, Neil Entwistle was arrested by the extradition unit of London's Metropolitan Police Service at Royal Oak station. Entwistle eventually waived his right to contest the extradition order and was returned to the United States on 15 February where he was arraigned at Framingham District Court and ordered to be held without bail at Middlesex County jail in Cambridge, Massachusetts. On 28 March, Entwistle was indicted on two counts of murder, the illegal possession of a firearm, and the illegal possession of ammunition. He pleaded not guilty. In December 2006, nearly a year after the murders, officers at the Middlesex County jail where Neil Entwistle was being held found letters to his parents and to his legal team which indicated he was depressed and might be contemplating suicide. As a result, he was transferred to Bridgewater State Hospital for mental evaluation before being returned to Middlesex County. Forensic psychiatrist Christopher Cordess believed Asperger syndrome explained Entwhistle's behavior, and Dr. David Holmes concurred. After numerous delays, the Middlesex superior court began juror selection in June 2008. There were concerns that, due to the high-profile nature of the case, Entwistle would not receive a fair trial. Some media reported that potential jurors were indicating that they had already formed significant views on his guilt. Trial and conviction: Entwistle's trial for double murder began on 2 June 2008 in Woburn, Massachusetts. His legal team, led by Elliot Weinstein, unsuccessfully fought proposals by the prosecution to use DNA evidence. He also unsuccessfully fought to suppress other evidence found in the family home, due to the lack of a warrant. Entwistle called no witnesses, nor did he testify in his own defense. Reporters noted that he showed no emotion during the trial. Entwistle was found guilty of all charges on 25 June 2008 and sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, the mandatory sentence for first degree murder in the state of Massachusetts. Judge Diane Kottmyer made it clear that this was a whole life sentence, subject only to a governor's pardon or successful appeal. Kottmyer imposed two life sentences on the murder charges and ten years of probation on the firearms and ammunition charges, all to run concurrently, and the condition that he never profit from the sale of his story. Entwistle was first incarcerated at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center. In August 2008, Entwistle was tricked into shaving his head in an attempt to secure the protection of a white supremacist prison gang. Instead of giving Entwistle protection, the gang had reportedly said: "It's a nice gesture on your part but we're gonna kill you." Entwistle was put into protective custody ("AdSeg") as a result, and in December, he was transferred to Old Colony Correctional Center, a medium security prison in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. The Department of Corrections confirmed that Entwistle's transfer was for his own safety, and that the threats against Entwistle's life were quite serious. Aftermath and appeals: -Entwistle's conviction was automatically appealed to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. He arranged for a new lawyer to represent him in his appeal, since his original lawyer, Elliot Weinstein, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and dropped the case to focus on recovery. On appeal, Entwistle argued that the searches of the family home were carried out without warrants, and the evidence seized as a result should have been suppressed during the trial. The appeal was rejected in August 2012. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case in January 2013. Entwistle has thus exhausted all of his appeals. -In October 2008, Entwistle's parents filed a complaint of harassment with the British Press Complaints Commission (PCC) against their local newspaper, the Worksop Guardian; the complaint was rejected. His parents continue to insist that their son is innocent of the murders, that Rachel was the true killer and that he will eventually be cleared and released from prison. Entwistle's mother said after the trial: "The evidence points to Rachel murdering our grandchild and then committing suicide". -In 2008, a book titled Heartless: The True Story of Neil Entwistle and the Cold Blooded Murder of His Wife and Child, was released by author Michele R. McPhee. -In December 2012, the British broadcaster Channel 5 aired an Entwistle documentary entitled "The Man Who Didn't Cry".

Murder of Michelle Gardner-Quinn

Michelle Gardner-Quinn was an undergraduate at the University of Vermont who was kidnapped on October 7, 2006. Her body was later found along a road in the neighboring town of Richmond on October 13. Disappearance and murder: In the early morning hours of October 7, Gardner-Quinn was walking home in Burlington, Vermont to her campus dormitory after a night out with friends. She borrowed a cell phone from a passerby, Brian Rooney, to call an acquaintance. A jewelry store surveillance camera captured Gardner-Quinn walking east with Rooney at approximately 2:34 am. Six days later, her body was found by hikers near Huntington Gorge in Richmond, Vermont. An autopsy revealed she had been sexually assaulted, beaten and strangled. Assailant: At a press conference on October 13, police announced that they had found Gardner-Quinn's body and arrested Brian Rooney on separate charges unrelated to the case. Rooney, a construction worker with several prior arrests, is facing charges from neighboring Caledonia County that pertain to sexual assault and lewd conduct with a child. In addition to being the person who last saw Gardner-Quinn, Rooney was reportedly seen with cuts on his hands when he stopped at a business in Winooski several days later. On October 25, police announced that they had charged Rooney with aggravated homicide in the death of Gardner-Quinn. He pled not guilty. At a press meeting, Rooney's lawyer accidentally revealed confidential information about DNA evidence, which resulted in the trial going under lock-and-key. On May 22, 2008, Brian Rooney was convicted of aggravated murder in Rutland, Vermont, by a 12-member jury. On October 17, 2008, Rooney was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Judge Michael Kupersmith admonished him, stating that: "You are the lowest of the low." Rooney expressed condolences to Quinn's family but maintained he is innocent. Aftermath: -Cosmopolitan magazine featured Gardner-Quinn's story, "The Murder of a Beautiful Girl", in its February 2007 issue. -A non-profit organization, Michelle's Earth Foundation (MEF) has been founded in her memory. It is devoted to promoting youth involvement and awareness in environmentalism, about which Gardner-Quinn cared deeply. -Her parents are creating a scholarship in her name at UVM (WPTZ) -An essay she wrote (just days before her abduction) about her environmental beliefs was featured at Live Earth concerts in July 2007 and on an August 5 National Public Radio broadcast. -Her essay, "A Reverence For All Life", has also been published in the book, This I Believe II: More Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women.

Death of Victoria Martens

On August 24, 2016, the dead body of ten-year-old Victoria Martens was found in an apartment building in Albuquerque, New Mexico. After responding to a 9-1-1 call regarding a domestic dispute, officers discovered Martens' dismembered remains partially wrapped in a burning blanket in her mother's apartment. The victim's mother, 35-year-old Michelle Martens; her boyfriend, 31-year-old Fabian Gonzales; and Gonzales' cousin, 31-year-old Jessica Kelley were arrested at the scene and charged with first-degree murder, child abuse resulting in great bodily harm or death, kidnapping, tampering with evidence, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The three suspects have pleaded not guilty in the state's court. Background: Victoria Martens was born on August 23, 2006, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She was a student at Petroglyph Elementary School in Albuquerque. Her mother, Michelle Martens, did not have a criminal record in New Mexico, but later told investigators she would seek men online to engage in sexual acts with her two children, including Victoria, while she allegedly watched for pleasure. The New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department (CYFD), located in the state capital, Santa Fe, had previously received five phone calls regarding the Martens' household, mostly from Michelle Martens herself, beginning in 2015. Michelle Martens allegedly met Fabian Gonzales on an internet dating service, PlentyOfFish, about a month prior to the killing. Jessica Kelley had been released from prison only four days before the murder. Murder: According to investigators, witnesses saw Jessica Kelley carrying Victoria Martens to the apartment at around 10 p.m. MDT on August 23. Later that night, neighbors reported hearing screaming coming from the apartment. Shorty after, at approximately 4:30 a.m. on August 24, Michelle Martens and Fabian Gonzales left the apartment and reported to neighbors that Kelley had attacked them with an iron. After responding to the 9-1-1 call, police entered the second-story apartment building where they saw smoke coming from behind the closed bathroom door. Upon opening the door, the responding officers discovered the dismembered body of Victoria Martens partially wrapped in a burning blanket. She was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy revealed she had been sexually assaulted, strangled to death, and then stabbed and dismembered. Her body was then set on fire. Martens had been given alcohol and methamphetamine prior to her death, according to her mother, in order "to calm her down so Fabian Gonzales and Jessica Kelley could have sex with her." Investigation and trials: Michelle Martens, Fabian Gonzales, and Jessica Kelley were arrested and charged with the murder of Victoria Martens. The three suspects were held on a USD$1 million cash-only bond. Martens, Gonzales and Kelley were arraigned on September 16, 2016. Initially co-defendants, prosecutors asked the court to try Martens, Gonzales, and Kelley in separate criminal trials. The motion was granted in June 2017. The suspects have pleaded not guilty. On August 14, 2017 the Judge Charles Brown decided that Michelle Martens would be tried first on July 29, 2018. Gonzales would be second in October 2018 and then Kelley would go on trial in January 2019. Internal investigation of the Albuquerque Police Department: On August 4, 2017, the Albuquerque Journal reported that an investigation by the Civilian Police Oversight Agency (CPOA) found that officers from the Albuquerque Police Department "did lie" to the newspaper about the police department's response to a CYFD referral concerning Victoria Martens prior to her death. In December 2016, a sergeant and a commander of the Crimes Against Children Unit told police command staff, including Chief of Police Gorden Eden and a department spokesman officer, that the Albuquerque Police had received referrals from the CYFD about Martens but did not investigate. In late January 2017, two police spokespersons told the Albuquerque Journal that officers did investigate the referrals and stated that interviews with Victoria Martens and her mother had been conducted; however, this was revealed by the investigation to be false. In July 2017, the CPOA investigation discovered that one of the police spokespersons held correct information about the case but fabricated details in the January statements given to the Albuquerque Journal. Reactions: Chief of Police Gorden Eden of the Albuquerque Police Department described the murder as "the most gruesome act of evil I have ever seen in my career". Governor Susana Martinez (R) called for a federal investigation into Martens' murder. Mayor Richard J. Berry (R) tweeted: "We are heartbroken as we mourn the murder of beautiful 10yr old Victoria Martens. Give your kids an extra hug tonight. #justiceForVictoria" A birthday memorial was held for Victoria Martens on August 29, 2016. Two months later, on October 29, a public funeral was held for Martens. In August 2017, Victoria Martens' maternal grandparents filed a wrongful death lawsuit in the 2nd District Court against the City of Albuquerque and some of its police officers. The lawsuit alleged that their failure to investigate a report that one of Michelle Martens' boyfriends tried to kiss Victoria was negligence that lead to her murder. The lawsuit said the City of Albuquerque "had in effect policies, practices and customs that condoned and fostered the unlawful conduct of the Albuquerque Police Department. Individual Defendants, and were a direct and proximate cause" of Victoria's murder. The lawsuit seeks policy changes and compensation for the Martens family.

Scientology holidays

Holidays, commemorations and observances in the Church of Scientology include the following: -February 22: Celebrity Day This is a major holiday for Scientology's many Celebrity Centres, highlighting their achievements and celebrating their existence. The date is specifically the anniversary of the opening of the Celebrity Centre International in Los Angeles in 1970, which, in the Church's words, is "dedicated to the rehabilitation of the culture through art". -March 13: L. Ron Hubbard's birthday A very important holiday in Scientology. -March 24: Student Day This holiday celebrates the commencement of the Saint Hill Special Briefing Course in 1961. -April 20: L. Ron Hubbard Exhibition Day According to the Church's official website, this day is "to celebrate the opening in 1991 of the L. Ron Hubbard Life Exhibition in Hollywood, California. Featuring impressive audiovisual displays on the life and accomplishments of L. Ron Hubbard, the exhibition is visited by thousands of Scientologists and non-Scientologists annually." -May 9: Anniversary of Dianetics Hubbard's book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health hit store shelves on this day in 1950. Another very important holiday in Scientology. -May 25: Integrity Day A day of contemplation of Hubbard's 1965 study on Scientology Ethics. -June 6: Maiden Voyage Anniversary The church describes this holiday thus: "Each year the annual Maiden Voyage event, commemorating the anniversary of New OT VIII, has come to be one of the most important gatherings of dedicated Scientologists and an opportunity for senior Church officials to meet and work directly with these parishioners to advance their religion. Scientologists who attend this annual spiritual cruise become “OT Ambassadors” and initiate programs to help Scientologists all over the world advance the aims of Scientology and to reach the top of the Bridge at New OT VIII." -June 18: Academy Day A celebration of Hubbard's Study Tech. -August 12: Sea Org Day Sea Org Day is a special event for all Sea Organization members, with rank and rating promotion ceremonies. It has been alleged by former members that recreational Sea Org Day events are mandatory: one ex-Scientologist claims "the one day a year you are supposed to get the day off, you are made to go on a bus to the beach, be there for roll call, participate in group games, etc." -September 4: Clear Day Clear Day marks the inauguration of Hubbard's Clearing Course, which debuted in 1965. -2nd Sunday in September: Auditor's Day A day of special recognition and acknowledgment for Scientology/Dianetics auditors. This occasion has also been popular with anti-Scientology protestors, as an opportunity to reach students. -October 7: IAS Anniversary From the Church's site: "Held at a different host city each year, members of the IAS gather to commemorate the founding of the IAS and to rededicate themselves to its aims. The annual IAS freedom awards are presented. This event coincides with the annual convention of IAS delegates." -November 27: Publications Day A commemoration of the day "Publications Worldwide" opened at Saint Hill Manor in 1967. -December 7: Flag Land Base Day Celebrates the opening of the Flag Land Base in Clearwater, Florida in 1975. -December 31: New Year's Eve This is the only secular and non-Hubbard-based observance on the official Scientology calendar, which states "This event welcomes in the new year with a review of accomplishments over the previous year and a look forward to the upcoming year and plans for further reach into new areas of society with L. Ron Hubbard’s technology. Stellar accomplishments of Scientology parishioners helping new people to move up The Bridge to Total Freedom are acknowledged." -Additionally, many more anniversaries of notable events in Scientology history are remembered. Examples include January 25 (Criminon day), marking the 1970 founding of the Criminon program, January 28 which celebrates the founding of the Church in New Zealand, February 19 (Narconon Day), marking the 1966 founding of Narconon, March 31, the anniversary of the founding of the Church of Scientology Vienna in 1971, and September 25, which marks the 1980 opening of the first Scientology and Dianetics College in Tel Aviv, Israel, where the concept is presented as a College, not a church.

freakishly long hair

my hair is so long that despite the ponytail being high on my head it's able to reach my shoulder blades.

hilarious

if i ever went on a mission my mom would pack me about 3-4 of those disposable cameras and i'd have to send her those back to be processed and i'd likely need more since she wants pictures from my mission.

Backpacker murders

The backpacker murders were a spate of serial killings that took place in New South Wales, Australia, between 1989 and 1993, committed by Ivan Milat. The bodies of seven missing young people aged 19 to 22 were discovered partially buried in the Belanglo State Forest, 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south west of the New South Wales town of Berrima. Five of the victims were foreign backpackers visiting Australia (three German, two British), and two were Australian travellers from Melbourne. Milat was convicted of the murders 27 July 1996 and is currently serving seven consecutive life sentences, as well as 18 years without parole, at the maximum-security Goulburn Correctional Centre. Details- First and second cases: On 19 September 1992, two runners discovered a decaying corpse while orienteering in the Belanglo State Forest in New South Wales, Australia. The following day, police constables Roger Gough and Suzanne Roberts discovered a second body 30 metres (98 ft) from the first. Early media reports suggested that the bodies were of missing British backpackers Caroline Clarke and Joanne Walters, who had disappeared from the inner Sydney suburb of Kings Cross in April 1992. However, a German couple, Gabor Neugebauer and Anja Habschied, had also disappeared from the Kings Cross area some time after 25 December 1991, and Simone Schmidl, also from Germany, had been reported missing for more than a year. It was also possible that the bodies were of a young Victorian couple, Deborah Everist and James Gibson, who had been missing since leaving Frankston in 1989. Police quickly confirmed, however, that the bodies were those of Clarke and Walters. Walters had been stabbed 14 times; she had been stabbed 4 times in the chest, once in the neck, and 9 times in the back. The stab wounds to her spine would have paralyzed her. Clarke had been shot 10 times in the head. The police believe she had been used as target practice. There were groups of wounds on the back of her head and on either side. Despite a thorough search of the forest over the following five days, no further evidence or bodies were found by police. Investigators ruled out the possibility of further discoveries within Belanglo State Forest. Third and fourth discoveries and body identification: In October 1993, a local man, Bruce Pryor, discovered a human skull and femur in a particularly remote section of the forest. He returned with police to the scene and two more bodies were quickly discovered and identified as Deborah Everist and James Gibson. Gibson's skeleton showed 8 stab wounds. A large knife had cut through his upper spine causing paralysis. Stab wounds to his back and chest would have punctured his heart and lungs. Everist had been savagely beaten. Her skull fractured in two places, her jaw was broken and there were knife marks on her forehead. She had been stabbed once in the back. The presence of Gibson's body in Belanglo was a puzzle to investigators as his backpack and camera had previously been discovered by the side of the road at Galston Gorge, in the northern Sydney suburbs over 120 kilometres (75 mi) to the north. Fifth, sixth and seventh discoveries: On 1 November 1993, a skull was found in a clearing in the forest by police sergeant Jeff Trichter. The skull was later identified as that of Simone Schmidl from Regensburg, Germany. She was last seen hitchhiking on 20 January 1991. Clothing found at the scene was not Schmidl's, but matched that of another missing backpacker, Anja Habschied. Schmidl's skeleton showed eight stab wounds; there may have been many more. Two had severed her spine, others had punctured her heart and lungs. The bodies of Habschied and her boyfriend Gabor Neugebauer were found on 3 November 1993 in shallow graves 50 metres (160 ft) apart. Habschied had been decapitated, but, despite an extensive search, her head was never found. Neugebauer had been shot in the head 6 times. Three bullets entered at the base of the head and three more from the left side. Search for the identity of the serial killer: There were similar aspects to all the murders. Each of the bodies had been deliberately posed face-down with their hands behind their backs, covered by a pyramidal frame of sticks and ferns. Forensic study determined that each had suffered multiple stab wounds to the torso. The killer had evidently spent considerable time with the victims both during and after the murders, as campsites were discovered close to the location of each body and shell casings of the same calibre were also identified at each site. Walters and Schmidl had been stabbed, whereas Clarke and Neugebauer had been shot numerous times in the head and stabbed post-mortem. Habschied had been decapitated and other victims showed signs of strangulation and severe beatings. Speculation arose that the crimes were the work of several killers, at least two. After developing a profile of the killer, the police faced an enormous volume of data from numerous sources. Investigators therefore applied link analysis technology to Roads and Traffic Authority vehicle records, gym memberships, gun licensing, and internal police records. As a result, the list of suspects was progressively narrowed from an extensive list of individuals to a short list of 230, to an even shorter list of 32, which included the killer. On 13 November, New South Wales police received a call from Paul Onions in the U.K. Onions had been backpacking in Australia several years before and, while out hiking, had accepted a ride south out of Sydney from a man known only as "Bill" on 25 January 1990. South of the town of Mittagong, Bill pulled out some ropes and attempted to tie Onions by the hands and then pulled a gun on him, at which point he managed to escape the vehicle while Bill shot at him. Onions flagged down Joanne Berry, a passing motorist, and reported the assault to local police. Onions' statement was backed up by Berry, who also contacted the investigation team, along with the girlfriend of a man who worked with Milat, who thought he should be questioned over the case. On 13 April 1994, Detective Gordon found the note regarding Onions' call to the hotline five months earlier. Superintendent Clive Small immediately called for the original report from Bowral police, but it was missing from their files. Fortunately, Constable Janet Nicholson had taken a full report in her notebook, which provided more details than the original statement. Police confirmed Ivan's brother Richard had been working on the day of the attack, but Ivan had not. Ivan Milat- Background: Ivan Robert Marko Milat was born on 27 December 1944 at Guildford, New South Wales, Australia. He is the son of Yugoslav emigrant Stijphan Marko "Steven" Milat and his Australian wife Margaret Elizabeth Milat. Ivan was the fifth-born of their fourteen children. He was employed as a road worker. Arrest: Milat quickly became a suspect. Police learned he had served prison time and in 1971 had been charged with the abduction of two women and the rape of one of them, although the charges were later dropped. It was also learned that both he and his brother Richard Milat worked together on road gangs along the highway between Sydney and Melbourne, that he owned a property in the vicinity of Belanglo, and had sold a Nissan Patrol four-wheel drive vehicle shortly after the discovery of the bodies of Clarke and Walters. Acquaintances also told police about Milat's obsession with weapons. When the connection between the Belanglo murders and Onions' experience was made, Onions flew to Australia to help with the investigation. On 5 May 1994, Onions positively identified Milat as the man who had picked him up and attempted to tie up and possibly murder him. Milat was arrested on 22 May 1994 at his home at Cinnabar Street, Eagle Vale after 50 police officers surrounded the premises, including heavily armed officers from the Tactical Operations Unit. Homes belonging to his brothers Richard, Alex, Boris, Walter and Bill were also searched at the same time by over 300 police. The search of Milat's home revealed a cache of weapons, including parts of a .22 calibre rifle that matched the type used in the murders, plus clothing, camping equipment and cameras belonging to several of his victims. Milat appeared in court on robbery and weapon charges on 23 May. He did not enter a plea. On 30 May, following continued police investigations, Milat was also charged with the murders of seven backpackers. At the beginning of February 1995, Milat was remanded in custody until June that same year. In March 1996, the trial opened and lasted fifteen weeks. His defence argued that, in spite of the evidence, there was no proof Milat was guilty and attempted to shift the blame to other members of his family, particularly Richard. On 27 July 1996, a jury found Milat guilty of the murders. He was also convicted of the attempted murder, false imprisonment and robbery of Paul Onions, for which he received six years' jail each. For the murders of Caroline Clarke, Joanne Walters, Simone Schmidl, Anja Habschied, Gabor Neugebauer, James Gibson and Deborah Everist, Milat was given a life sentence on each count, with all sentences running consecutively and without the possibility of parole. On his first day in Maitland Gaol, Milat was beaten by another inmate. Almost a year later, he made an escape attempt alongside convicted drug dealer and former Sydney councillor, George Savvas. Savvas was found hanged in his cell the next day and Milat was transferred to the maximum-security super prison in Goulburn, New South Wales. Appeals: Milat appealed against his convictions on the grounds that the quality of legal representation he received was poor and therefore constituted a breach of his common law right to legal representation, established in the landmark case of Dietrich v The Queen. However, Gleeson CJ, Meagher JA and Newman J of the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal held that the right to legal representation did not depend on any level or quality of representation unless the quality of representation were so poor that the accused were no better off with it. The Court found that this was not the case, and therefore dismissed the appeal. In 2004, Milat filed an application with the High Court which was heard by Justice Michael McHugh. The orders sought were that Milat be allowed to either attend to make oral submissions in an impending appeal for special leave to the court and that, alternatively, he be allowed to appear via video link. The application was dismissed on the grounds that the issues raised could be adequately addressed by written submission. The grounds of his impending appeal were that the trial judge had erred by allowing the Crown to put a case to the jury unsupported by its own witnesses and had also put forward alternative cases to the jury, one of which had not been argued by the Crown. The case was heard by Justice William Gummow and the application was lost. Self-mutilation in jail: On 26 January 2009, Milat cut off his little finger with a plastic knife, with the intention of mailing the severed digit to the High Court. He was taken to Goulburn Hospital under high security, however on 27 January 2009 Milat was returned to prison after doctors decided surgery to reattach the finger was not possible. Milat had previously injured himself while imprisoned in 2001, when he swallowed razor blades, staples and other metal objects. In 2011, Milat went on a hunger strike, losing 25 kilograms in an unsuccessful attempt to be given a PlayStation. Copycat murder by Milat relative: In 2012, Milat's great-nephew Matthew Milat and his friend Cohen Klein (both aged 19 at the time of their sentencing) were sentenced to 43 years and 32 years in prison respectively, for murdering David Auchterlonie on his 17th birthday with an axe at the Belanglo State Forest in 2010. Matthew Milat struck Auchterlonie with the double-headed axe as Klein recorded the attack with a mobile phone. This was the forest where Ivan Milat had killed and buried his victims. Other developments: -Police maintain that Milat may have been involved in many more murders than the seven for which he was convicted. In 2001, Milat was ordered to give evidence at an inquest into the disappearances of three other female backpackers, but no case has been brought against him, due to lack of evidence. Similar inquiries were launched in 2003, in relation to the disappearance of two nurses and again in 2005, relating to the disappearance of hitchhiker Anette Briffa, but no charges have resulted. -On 8 November 2004, Milat gave a televised interview on Australian Story, in which he denied that any of his family had been implicated in the seven murders. -On 18 July 2005, Milat's former lawyer, John Marsden, who had been fired before the murder trial, made a deathbed statement in which he claimed that Milat had been assisted by his sister Shirley Soire (1946-2003) in the killings of the two British backpackers. -On 27 October 2005, in the New South Wales Supreme Court Milat's final appeal was refused, and he is likely to remain in prison for the rest of his life. In May 2015, Milat's brother Boris told Dr. Steve Aperen, a former homicide detective who serves as a consultant with the LAPD and FBI, among others, that Milat was responsible for another shooting: that of taxi cab driver Neville Knight, in 1962 after Milat admitted to the crime. After conducting polygraph tests with Boris Milat and Allan Dillon, the man convicted of Knight's shooting, Aperen is convinced that both men are telling the truth and that Ivan Milat did in fact shoot Knight. In May 2016, it was announced that Milat's former home in Eagle Vale, New South Wales, was for sale, and listed on the market for $700,000. In popular culture: -The 2005 Australian film Wolf Creek is based on the backpacker murders of two British females and an Australian male. Since the film's release at the Sundance film festival, it has grossed over $30 million and had a sequel, Wolf Creek 2, which was released in 2013 and grossed $4 million. -A miniseries on the Seven Network, Catching Milat, was screened in 2015 and focused on the members of "Task Force Air" who tracked Milat.

come out fighting

ever hear the phrase that if you ever get backed into a corner you come out fighting? well i did that. the bishop thought my mom was at the visitors center when she wasn't so i had to fight him and say no she's not here yet.

LDS Student Association

LDS Student Association (also known as the Latter-day Saint Student Association or the LDSSA) is an organization established under the direction of the Seminaries and Institutes of Religion of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) to help students enrolled in post-secondary education to have a balanced secular and spiritual educational experience during their years of formal education. The Encyclopedia of Mormonism states: The purposes of LDSSA are to help college and university students stay closely affiliated with the Church, succeed in their studies, and achieve a balanced educational-social life while on campus; to motivate LDS students to become a powerful influence for good on the campus; to provide meaningful activities that are consistent with Church standards; and to coordinate Church-related activities for college students. Each chapter of the LDSSA is affiliated with a post-secondary educational institution and the LDS Church. Membership is open to all students enrolled at the institution who espouse the purposes and standards of the LDSSA. Associate membership may be granted to non-students under special circumstances. Membership is not denied to anyone on the basis of race, religion, national origin, ethnicity, color, age, gender, marital status, citizenship, sexual orientation, veteran status, or disability. Members must keep LDSSA standards at LDSSA-sponsored events, which are the standards of the LDS Church. These standards include, but are not limited to: no acts of sexual immorality, no alcohol consumption or tobacco usage, and no immodest attire. The LDSSA was established in 1960, and today a chapter of the LDSSA exists in many locations that an Institute of Religion of the Church Educational System has been established. The Institute of Religion Advisory Council, with counsel from the faculty advisor(s), provide advice/guidance to the LDSSA and its members. LDSSA chapters at some schools (for example, Harvard College) are not formally and directly governed by the LDS Church, as a result of official school requirements mandating the "local autonomy" of recognized campus organizations. However, they still interact with the local Institutes of Religion and church organization structure in ways similar to those of other LDSSA chapters. One key difference is that such LDSSA chapters hold elections for their president and other board officers, rather than those officers being nominated by the Institute of Religion Advisory Council. Two key figures in establishing the LDSSA were W. Rolfe Kerr and Elaine A. Cannon.

Mia Zapata

Mia Katherine Zapata was the lead singer for the Seattle punk band The Gits. After gaining praise in the nascent grunge rock scene, Zapata was murdered in 1993 while on her way home from a music venue. The crime went unsolved for a decade before her killer, Jesus Mezquia, was tried, convicted and sentenced to 37 years in prison. Life and career: Zapata was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. Zapata learned how to play the guitar and the piano by age nine, and was influenced by punk rock as well as jazz, blues, and R&B singers such as Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Jimmy Reed, Ray Charles, Hank Williams, and Sam Cooke. In 1984, Zapata enrolled at Antioch College located in Yellow Springs, Ohio as a liberal arts student. In September 1986, she and three friends formed the punk rock band The Gits. In 1989, the band relocated to Seattle, Washington. Mia found a job at a local bar and the four bandmembers moved into an abandoned house they called "The Rathouse." The band released a series of well-received singles on local independent record labels from 1990 to 1991. As the Gits were making a name for themselves in the local music scene, they often played shows with their friends' band, 7 Year Bitch. In 1992, the band released its debut album Frenching the Bully. Their reputation progressively increased within the grunge scene in Seattle, before the band began work on their second and final album Enter: The Conquering Chicken, released in 1993. Zapata came from an affluent family but often lived without material comforts. As her father described it: "Mia lived in two different worlds. She lived on two different sides of the street—the straight side on one, with parochial schools, an affluent family, and tennis clubs. But when she crossed the street, material things didn't mean anything to her." Her music often led to a rejection of financial comfort, but regardless of status, Valerie Agnew describes Mia as "commanding respect and interest immediately". Zapata was well connected to her community. Peter Sheehy recalls: "Mia was the hub of several social circles; a magnetic personality who drew all sorts of people together who otherwise might never have met." On his way to her funeral, Zapata's father became lost and recalls many people carrying yellow roses: the admission ticket to her service. Even Judge Sharon Armstrong, the judge during her killer's trial, highlighted Zapata as an "extraordinarily vibrant" girl, who was "obviously talented"; she was "struck by how closely Zapata had connected to so many people". The remaining members of the Gits collaborated with Joan Jett in 1995 to make an album and tour to benefit the private investigation of Mia Zapata's murder. The band was named "Evil Stig" which spells "Gits Live" backwards. In February 2013, a play called "These Streets" inspired by Mia Zapata and the stories of other female musicians in Seattle debuted at ACT Theatre in Seattle. The Gits: The band, who included guitarist Joe Spleen, drummer Steve Moriarty, and bassist Matt Dresdner, met in Ohio 1986. A few years later the band decided to move to Seattle to indulge in the city's burgeoning music scene. Within no time the band had developed quite a following amidst the city's underground punk scene. Many would group them together with bands such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam, but Mia brought a voice of femininity to the grunge scene that had not been seen yet. Although the group was 75% men, the band as a whole and Mia Zapata in particular gained quite a following amongst the feminist community of Seattle at the time. In 1990, after the move to Seattle, the Gits went on a very successful international tour, spreading the word about the band, all without the support of a record label. In 1992, their first independent album was released- Frenching the Bully. The album had hits such as "Another Shot of Whiskey", "Second Skin", and "Here's to Your Fuck", receiving positive reviews. Throughout the recording of the second album, the band had planned a large US and European tour as well as many local shows, all the while being courted by various recording labels. Unfortunately, before the group could finish and release their second album, "Enter: The Conquering Chicken," the band was shocked by the murder of their iconic lead singer. The band did continue making music, and found success in that second album with singles such as, "Seaweed," and "Precious Blood". Murder and investigation: At around 2:00 a.m. on July 7, 1993, Zapata left the Comet Tavern in the Capitol Hill area of Seattle. She stayed at a studio space in the basement of an apartment building located a block away, and briefly visited a friend who lived on the second floor. This was the last time she was seen alive. She may have walked a few blocks west, or north to a friend's apartment, or may have decided to take the long walk south to her home. She was beaten, strangled, and raped in the Central District of Seattle. It is believed she encountered her attacker shortly after 2:15 a.m. Her body was not initially identified as she had no identification on her when she was found. An episode of the cable television show Forensic Files revealed that she was identified after the medical examiner, who was a fan of the Gits and had been to their concerts, recognized her. According to the Forensic Files episode, a man two blocks from the Comet Tavern heard a scream around 3:00 a.m. A woman discovered her body in the street at around 3:30 a.m., near the intersection of 24th Avenue South and South Washington Street in the Central District. According to the medical examiner, if she had not been strangled, she would have died from the internal injuries suffered from the beating. According to court documents, an autopsy found evidence of a struggle in which Zapata suffered blunt impact to her abdomen and a lacerated liver. Zapata is interred at Cave Hill Cemetery in her hometown of Louisville. The Seattle music community, including its most famous bands - Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden - helped raise $70,000 to hire a private investigator for three years. The funds dried up without any major breaks in the case, but the investigator, Leigh Hearon, continued to investigate on her own time. In 1998, after five years of investigation, Seattle police Detective Dale Tallman said: "We're no closer to solving the case than we were right after the murder." Arrest and trial: In 2003, Florida fisherman Jesus Mezquia, who had come from Cuba in 1980 in the Mariel boatlift, was arrested in connection with Zapata's murder. DNA evidence was used to tie him to the murder and charges were brought against him. A DNA profile was extracted from saliva found on Zapata's body and kept in cold storage until the STR technology was developed for full extraction. An original entry in 2001 failed to generate a positive result, but Mezquia's DNA entered the national CODIS database after he was arrested in Florida for burglary and domestic abuse in 2002. He had a history of violence toward women including domestic abuse, burglary, assault, and battery. All of his ex-girlfriends, and his wife, had filed reports against him. There was also a report of indecent exposure on file against him in Seattle within two weeks of Zapata's murder. However, there was no known prior link between Mezquia and Zapata. Mezquia never testified in his own defense, and still maintains his innocence. The theory is that he saw her leave the bar and followed her a short distance before he attacked. Her headset covered her ears so she would have been unaware of any danger until he grabbed her and dragged her to his car where he assaulted her in the back seat. Mezquia was convicted in 2004 and initially sentenced to 37 years, which he appealed. He was then sentenced to 36 years. Mezquia has been in prison since January 2003. Aftermath: In the aftermath of her murder, friends created a self-defense group called Home Alive, which disbanded in 2010. Home Alive organized benefit concerts and released albums with the participation of many of Seattle's music elite; such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Heart, and the Presidents of the United States of America. Joan Jett also recorded an album with the surviving members of the Gits called Evil Stig ("Gits Live" backwards). The Home Alive group's instructors offered a range of courses, from anger management and use of pepper spray to the martial arts. In 2005 a documentary, The Gits Movie, was produced about Mia Zapata's life, the Gits, and the Seattle music scene. Its first showing occurred at the Seattle International Film Festival in May of that same year. Another version of the film appeared two years later at the 2007 SXSW (South By Southwest) Film Festival. The final cut of the film was released theatrically in over 20 North American cities on July 7, 2008, the 15th memorial anniversary of Zapata's death. The following day the film was released on DVD along with a Best of the Gits CD (both from Liberation Entertainment). ¡Viva Zapata!, by punk band 7 Year Bitch, was released in June 1994, on C/Z Records in Seattle, as a tribute to Zapata. Some of the songs on the album address the issue of Zapata's murder directly. Following Zapata's death, Joan Jett and Kathleen Hanna wrote a song called "Go Home" that was later released on Jett's 1994 album, Pure and Simple. Later, a video for "Go Home" was released which depicts a woman who is being stalked and attacked but is then able to defend herself against the assailant. In February 2013, a play called "These Streets", inspired by the stories of and featuring music by Mia Zapata and other female musicians in Seattle, debuted at ACT theatre in Seattle. Zapata's death caused a sense of defeat and fear within the Seattle community. The Seattle Times marked Zapata's murder as the moment "the Seattle scene lost its sense of invincibility." Cristen Storm recalls Zapata's death as a reality check, stating: "They were all very tough people and as a group of women, they are all really strong, outspoken, and hard-hitting, very opinionated women and that perception of, 'We're not victims at all in any way and this can't happen to women that aren't victims,' and I think Zapata's death shattered that myth for us, and showed that it happens to all types of women." Mia Zapata is often cast as a symbol for feminist activism, a martyr, and an angel. Dresdner said "Mia was sainted, and that was very peculiar... she became this icon for feminism and all kinds of things that she had very little to do with in her actual life." Margaret O'Neil Girouard, who wrote her thesis on Zapata, believes Zapata is an example of women artists being classified based on the perceived motivations behind their art. Moriarty believed "[Mia wanted] to relate to people on a personal level in her lyrics rather than on a political level." Andrew Kessler (the Gits' guitarist, known as Joe Spleen) believed "Mia had no social or political agenda and no real interest in that stuff. Also, after her death, she quickly acquired a symbolic status as a feminist icon, martyr, and poster child for rape and violence toward women in the eyes of many folks—which had nothing to do with who she was as an actual person. In fact Mia would be mortified that she has been remembered and portrayed in such a way." Mia is often associated with riot grrrl, though bandmates such as Kessler claim she had no involvement and "little interest" in the movement. It has been speculated that this association may be due to her presence as a "charismatic female musician" in the Northwest, who was performing throughout the emergence of riot grrrl.

Disappearance of Debbie Blair

Debbie Blair is a Canadian woman who disappeared in Cypress Provincial Park, West Vancouver, British Columbia, while hiking on September 29, 2016 with a group of friends. Her whereabouts are not known. The missing person investigation by the West Vancouver Police remains open and active. Meanwhile, ground and air search operations in the area which features unforgiving mountain terrain, have been suspended by the North Shore Rescue on October 2, 2016 due in part to bad weather conditions. Disappearance: Debbie Blair, age 65, went missing around noontime on a warm and sunny Thursday, September 29, 2016 while hiking with her regular Vancouver daytime hiking club along the Baden-Powel Trail toward Eagle Bluffs (1094 m elevation) in Cypress Provincial Park; one hour drive north-west of downtown Vancouver. She was last seen by the group members hiking in front of others, in the area of the Donut Rock Trail junction of the Black Mountain. She has not been seen since. Search: The search for Blair by the North Shore Rescue began on the same evening and continued until 1:30 am with nighttime temperatures hovering not far above freezing. The search resumed at 8:00 am Friday morning and continued throughout the day. Human tracks were found near Dick Creek. After yet another very cold night, there was a heavy rain on Cypress in the early hours of Saturday, October 1, 2016. The NSR search team was made up of around 50 volunteer personnel from Surrey, Lions’ Bay and Coquitlam SAR, aided by West Vancouver Police and the Abbotsford Police Dog Service. Multiple helicopters equipped with Forward-Looking-Infrared (FLIR) scanners were also deployed. Search operations have been suspended on Sunday, October 2, 2016 without finding any confirmed sign of Debbie Blair. Aftermath: The North Shore Rescue and West Vancouver Police informed the public that the search for Debbie Blair would remain inactive subject to receipt of any new information. The missing person investigation however, is still open. Police requested anyone who believes they saw her since September 29, 2016 to call them. Blair is described as a Caucasian woman, 160 cm (5'4") tall, weighting approximately 59 kg (130 lbs) with short, grey hair. Several theories and counter-theories have been proposed since September 29, 2016 to explain Debbie's demise. One theory is that she was suffering from undiagnosed Alzheimer’s and is hard of hearing. Another theory is that she was unprepared for a worst-case scenario, possibly wearing a T-shirt without a jacket although this has not been confirmed by her group members. It is likely that she stepped off the path for privacy in difficult terrain without leaving a bag on the trail perpendicular to where she was in order to alert slower group walking behind her; and than failed to return to the same spot herself.

confusion

if 2 groups of friends of mine (1 from church and 1 not from the church) came over to me at the same time i'd be like, "where do i go? who do i go to?" this is because i'm a liberal Mormon who rarely does stuff with the church.