"HE WAS IN DANGER" Mystery surrounds death of US worker at Saudi Hotel

US defense contract worker Chris Cramer in a picture taken just days before his body was found outside his hotel in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

The mysterious death in Saudi Arabia of an American defense contractor who fell from a third story hotel window has family and friends emphatically denying his employer’s original claim that he committed suicide.

New Hampshire native Christopher Cramer, 50, was found dead on Jan. 15 after a three-story tumble from the window of the Sahara Makarim Hotel in the city of Tabuk, where he was staying.

Cramer was in the region for Advance Defense Systems of Kollsman, providing technical assistance for a demonstration and sale of a TOW anti-armor missile system. His employer originally told family members that Cramer had committed suicide, a claim they immediately disputed, citing chilling messages begging for help that he sent to a friend just before his death.

“He called me three times that night and left me messages saying that he was in danger and to call the State Department,” Cramer’s friend and family attorney Noah Mandell told FoxNews.com. “He was there, he was in danger, and I believe he was killed.

“What’s troublesome is the cover-up. The announcement by the company that it was a suicide before seeing all the evidence is strange.”

“I know he didn’t commit suicide. You don’t send out a text like that before jumping out of the window.”

- Jennifer Kelly, sister of Chris Cramer

Cramer’s family agrees with Mandell. Those who knew him say he was a happy person who never showed signs of depression or wanting to take his own life.

“He was a happy guy,” Cramer’s nephew, Chris Arsenault, told FoxNews.com. “He was always a strong-willed man who lived for his family.”

Arsenault added that when his uncle could not reach Mandell, he texted another friend pleading for help.

“I’m at the Marakim tabuk hotel in Saudi,” reads a screengrab of the text message provided to FoxNews.com. “I think something bad is going to happen to me tonight. Please contact state dept ASAP. Bad things were said.”

Arsenault said that the messages were not typical of Cramer and that he spoke to him just a few days before his death and nothing seemed wrong.

“It just wasn’t right,” he said. “He would not send a text like that unless he was truly in trouble.”

Kollsman quickly backed away from its claim that Cramer committed suicide after his family rejected it.

In a statement provided to FoxNews.com, a representative for the company said it was working to help obtain police reports and have Cramer’s body sent back to his family in Hudson, N.H. for burial.

“We are all deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Chris Cramer and are offering our continuous support and assistance to Chris’ family and his colleagues, Clark Freise, a vice president with Kollsman, said in the statement.  “Like the family, we are eager to learn more about his death and are in continuous contact with the U.S. Department of State to strongly encourage their assistance in obtaining the final report of the local police regarding the circumstances surrounding Chris’ passing. It is important to bring Chris home to his loved ones and we are working closely with the family to expedite the repatriation of Chris.”

State Department officials did not immediately return requests for comment but had issued an earlier statement after Cramer’s death.

“We can confirm that U.S. citizen Christopher J. Cramer died outside the Sahara Makarim Hotel in Tabuk on January 15,” reads the statement. “We express our deepest condolences to his family and friends. Officials from the U.S. Consulate General in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia are in contact with the family and are providing consular assistance.

“Out of respect for the privacy of those affected by this tragedy, we will not comment further. For questions regarding the investigation, we refer you to the Tabuk Police Department.”

Cramer’s family describes him as a loving man who always put his family first.

“He’s the type of soul that would do anything for anyone,” his sister, Jennifer Kelly, told FoxNews.com. He had a great enthusiasm. He could light up the room.”

Kelly said that Cramer left on January 8 and told her not to worry, that he would be back in a few weeks.

“I think I had a harder time with him going than he did,” she said. “He told me, ‘Jen, don’t worry.’

“He was a little nervous But I think anyone would, given what’s going on in the region. I think he felt that Kollsman had his back but I think he had a false sense of security.”

The family is hoping for more answers.

“I know he didn’t commit suicide,” Kelly said. “You don’t send out a text like that before jumping out of the window.”

“I feel like they [Tabuk police] are covering something up,” she said. “We just don’t want to see this go away and be swept under the rug.”

Follow Perry Chiaramonte on Twitter: @Perrych

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"HE WAS IN DANGER" Mystery surrounds death of US worker at Saudi Hotel

VA"s letter offers sympathies for death of veteran who"s very much alive - VIDEO: VA"s mix-up

A disabled Army veteran’s wife received a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs this month extending its sympathies on the death of her husband, James Fales.

The problem? James Fales was the one who opened the letter.

“At first, it was kind of a shock; then it became humorous, to a point,” Fales, who served 11 years in the military and retired as a sergeant, told “Fox & Friends” Sunday.

The VA letter, dated Jan. 8, 2015, to Dee Fales was meant to offer condolences and to include information about death benefits and burial expenses that will be covered by the Department of Veterans Affairs, KFSM-TV reported.

CLICK TO READ THE VA’s LETTER TO DEE FALES.

When James Fales called the VA to alert them about the error, “They asked to verify who I was calling about, and I told them ‘By the way, this is me!’” Fales said. “And the only response I got on the phone was, ‘Oh boy.’ So now they are processing me to put me back as alive in the VA system.”

During the interview with “Fox & Friends,” Fales said that while the benefits division of the VA had him listed as deceased, the VA health care system had him very much alive.

“Since the government says I’m dead now, can I stop paying taxes?”

- James Fales

“I was still making doctors’ appointments,” said Fales, who is being treated for post-traumatic stress disorder and an ankle injury, according to KFSM.

Fales is unsure how the mixup may impact his medical care and says he and his wife are optimistic the VA will fix the error.

The Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks issued the following statement, according to KFSM:

“We do apologize and regret that this error has occurred, and want to reassure our Veterans that we will work diligently to assist them in any way we are able to in order to resolve the issue.”

Being listed as dead hasn’t killed Fales’ sense of humor, however.

“Since the government says I’m dead now, can I stop paying taxes?” he joked.

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VA"s letter offers sympathies for death of veteran who"s very much alive - VIDEO: VA"s mix-up

New evidence prompts "forensic dig" for Maryland sisters missing since "75 - FBI ups reward in case of Mississippi girl burned to death

Katherine Lyon (left) and Sheila Lyon (right)

BEDFORD, Va. –  Armed with what one official described as new information, federal and state authorities searched a site on a Virginia mountain Monday for the remains of two Maryland sisters who disappeared 40 years ago.

Bedford County Sheriff Mike Brown said at a news conference that the “forensic dig” on Taylor’s Mountain could take a couple of days. He said a Federal Bureau of Investigation evidence recovery team, a Radford University forensic pathologist and state and local authorities were involved in the search for the remains of 10-year-old Katherine Lyon and 12-year-old Sheila Lyon.

Brown said new information prompted the dig, but he declined to be specific.

Asked if it appears human remains will be found, Brown said: “We would hope so.”

The Lyon sisters disappeared in 1975 after walking to a shopping mall in Wheaton, Maryland. A search for clues has been ongoing since September on Taylor’s Mountain in the Thaxton area of Bedford County.

Authorities have named Richard Allen Welch Sr. and his nephew, Lloyd Lee Welch, as persons of interest in the case. Montgomery County, Maryland, Police Chief Russ Hamill said in October that authorities believed that Richard Welch was a security guard in the Wheaton area at the time of the disappearance and that the family owned property in Bedford County. Lloyd Welch is a child sex offender in a Delaware prison.

Neither man has been charged in the Lyon case, but Richard Welch’s wife, Patricia Jean Welch of Hyattsville, Maryland, was indicted last month on a charge of lying to a grand jury.

Bedford County Commonwealth’s Attorney Randy Krantz urged any residents with information about the case to come forward.

“Our mission focus is to bring these children home if at all possible,” Krantz said.

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New evidence prompts "forensic dig" for Maryland sisters missing since "75 - FBI ups reward in case of Mississippi girl burned to death

Toddler mauled to death by dogs in St Ann

Tuesday, January 06, 2015 | 5:50 PM    

ST ANN, Jamaica — A two-year-old toddler died after he was attacked and mauled by dogs at his home on Monday evening on Pimento Way in Cardiff Hall, Runaway Bay, St Ann.

Maxi Millian Guscott died a few hours after he was taken to the St Ann’s Bay Hospital. The child’s traumatized mother has since been hospitalized.

Reports are that the child was at home with family members when he opened a door and went into the yard where a bull mastiff attacked him. It is believed that smaller dogs also joined in the attack.

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Toddler mauled to death by dogs in St Ann

TuffChin Hardrive Receive Death Threats From Gage

DanceHall Artist TuffChin Hardrive Receive Death threats from Gage followers and Gage him self saying “Pu$$y you cant dis the walking gun you we dead don’t come back a Clarendon” on Facebook in a message after arms house records release his new single (murderious) which was uploaded by Gaza Priience Ent on you tube dissing Gage Tuffchin HarDrive replies in a new song titled “GAGE” coming soon.

Posted in: Breaking News, Current News, Dance-hall, Local. Tags: TuffChin Hardrive Receive Death Threats From Gage.

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TuffChin Hardrive Receive Death Threats From Gage

Rapper Bobby Shmurda Stabbed To Death In Rikers Island Jail By Cell Mate

NEW YORK CITY – It is being reported that rapper Bobby Shmurda was murdered in the jail where he was being held. Investigators say Bobby’s cell mate Antwan Mauldin, 29, stabbed Bobby Shmurda to death with a hidden pocket knife. Although authorities are not sure what caused Mauldin to murder Bobby, it is believed Bobby Shmurda’s song lyrics and rap personality might have played a role.

Bobby Shmurda was jailed on December 17 of 2014 for conspiracy of murder and weapon charges, and reckless endangerment as part of a 15-person, 69-count indictment that included fellow GS9 label-mate Rowdy Rebel. Bobby was being held at Rikers Island jail in New York City at the time of his murder. Although pleaded not guilty, Bobby was scheduled to remain in jail for christmas. The 20 year old rapper was known for his popular hit singles “Hot N*gga” and “Bobby B*tch”, as well as introducing the popular “Shmoney Dance”.

Mauldin, who was also jailed and awaiting trial for weapons charges, will now be charged for first degree murder and can face up to 40 years in prison. We will bring you more information soon.

:Huzlers

Posted in: Breaking News, Environment, Gossip, Hip Hop, International. Tags: Rapper Bobby Shmurda Stabbed To Death In Rikers Island Jail By Cell Mate.

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Rapper Bobby Shmurda Stabbed To Death In Rikers Island Jail By Cell Mate

Brother Of Girl Who Was Starved To Death By Mother, Brought Food To Her Funeral ‘So His Sister Could Eat In Heaven’

The five-year-old brother of a girl who was beaten and starved to death by their mother brought food to her funeral so she would have enough to eat in heaven, it was revealed.
‘Monster mom’ Carlotta Brett-Pierce was found guilty of murder last month and sentenced to 32 years to life in prison yesterday.
Her four-year-old daughter Marchella died covered in bruises and open wounds and weighing only 19 pounds in September 2010. She was found drugged and beaten, tied to her SpongeBob SquarePants bed at the Brooklyn home.

The little girl, who was force-fed allergy pills, was often beaten in front of her brother Tymel.
Prosecutor Jacqueline Kagan revealed that Tymel, now seven, was deeply traumatized by the events he witnessed at home and still grieves for his sister.
When he attended her funeral, he had brought food with him so that he could help his sister.

Ms Kagan said: ‘He brought with him food because he knew she didn’t get enough. And he told his foster mother, ”I hope that she gets enough food and water in heaven,”’ according to the New York Post.
The month-long trial of Brett-Pierce, 32, in a Brooklyn court room finished quickly on May 9 with the jury requiring only one hour to deliberate over her guilt.

When Marchella Brett-Pierce was found, she was tied to her bed with jump ropes, had been beaten, starved and drugged.
Prosecutors say she had dozens of marks and open wounds on her tiny body which was so emaciated, every rib could be seen.
Carlotta Brett-Pierce was emotionless when the jury proclaimed her guilty of her daughter Marchella’s death. Her punishment did not even stop her from giving the judge some attitude when asked if she understood.
‘I heard what you said,’ the 32-year-old said.

She has refused to accept blame for the death of her daughter, blaming the jurors, lawyers and the press for her murder conviction, calling it a ‘tragedy’.
Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Patricia DiMango said yesterday: ‘This child, at her tender age, was subjected to a hell that no one should have to endure.
‘What kind of person could do this to a child, let alone their own child?’ she said, according to DNAinfo.com
During the trial, Brett-Pierce’s answers painted a ghastly picture of their home life.
She said of her daughter near the time of her September 2010 death: ‘To me, at the time, it didn’t look bad.’

Brett-Pierce said that her daughter lost weight by running around in the heat and sustained the bruises from falling in the stairway.
Judge DiMango also sentenced grandmother Loretta Brett to five to 15 years in prison for manslaughter in the death.
Throughout the trial, her lawyers switched between disproving the prosecutions tales of horrific beatings and arguing that Brett-Pierce was an overwhelmed mother with a sick daughter that she didn’t know how to care for.
Marchella spent the first three-and-a-half years of her life in hospital after she was born prematurely with severe breathing difficulties.
Her mother admitted on the stand that in the seven months she was in her care, she never took the four-year-old to a pediatrician.

A prosecutor showed the mother a doctor’s note indicating that her youngest boy weighed 18 pounds at nine months – roughly the same weight as four-year-old Marchella when she died.
She told the court she fed her daughter ‘potato chips, fried chicken and cheese doodles’, but an autopsy recorded that only a single corn kernel was found in her body, along with a high level of antihistamines.
Marchella should have been on a specialized diet and fed through a tube, which prosecutors say the mother totally ignored, instead feeding her junk food.

During questioning she denied certain things she had already told police and called Marchella ‘my baby’ as opposed to ‘that b***h’ – which she was heard calling her in a recorded jail conversation played for the jury saying: ‘That b***h wasn’t that f***ing light.’
When she was released from hospital seven months before her death, she weighed 26lbs- a stark contrast from her final weight of 18.9 pounds.
The Administration for Children’s Services became involved with the family after Brett Pierce gave birth to a boy who tested positive for drugs.
Two social workers from ACS who had involvement in Marchella’s case were charged separately with criminally negligent homicide for failing to prevent the tragic death.
Damon Adams and Chereece Bell were both charged with criminally negligent homicide, official misconduct and endangering the welfare of a child. Their case is due to begin.

Posted in: Breaking News, Current News, International. Tags: Brother Of Girl Who Was Starved To Death By Mother, Brought Food To Her Funeral ‘So His Sister Could Eat In Heaven’.

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Brother Of Girl Who Was Starved To Death By Mother, Brought Food To Her Funeral ‘So His Sister Could Eat In Heaven’

Texas ex-official sentenced to death for murder of prosecutor"s wife in apparent revenge plot

Dec 4: Eric Williams makes his way into the courtroom before closing arguments in his trial at the Rockwall County Courthouse in Rockwall, Texas. (AP Photo/The Dallas Morning News, Vernon Bryant, Pool)

ROCKWALL, Texas –  A former justice of the peace in North Texas was sentenced to death Wednesday for killing a district attorney’s wife in what prosecutors described as a revenge plot that left three people dead.

Eric Williams was convicted Dec. 4 of capital murder in the 2013 death of Cynthia McLelland, who was slain along with her husband, Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland, in their home east of Dallas.

Williams has been charged, but not tried, in the deaths of Mike McLelland and prosecutor Mark Hasse.

The 47-year-old Williams lost his job and law license after McLelland and Hasse prosecuted him for theft and burglary. Prosecutors say that conviction pushed Williams over the edge. During his trial, they presented evidence that he paid a friend to rent a storage unit where he kept more than 30 guns, police tactical gear and a getaway car.

Authorities say a masked Williams gunned down Hasse in January 2013 outside a courthouse building in broad daylight.

Prosecutors say a “masked assassin,” whom they identified as Williams, approached Hasse as he walked to work and the two shoved each other. They said Hasse pleaded and yelled “I’m sorry” before he was repeatedly shot.

Two months later, Williams stormed into the McLellands’ rural home and shot both the district attorney and his wife more than a dozen times each, according to evidence at his trial.

Williams’ wife, Kim, is accused of helping him carry out the slayings and testified before closing arguments Tuesday that she drove the getaway car in Hasse’s death and helped her husband dispose of weapons used in the shooting of the McClellands.

She said Eric Williams had a hit list that included former state District Judge Glen Ashworth and Kaufman County District Attorney Erleigh Norville Wiley.

Family of Cynthia and Mike McLelland addressed Williams during victim impact statements after he was sentenced to death, according to the Dallas Morning News.

“What you do will come back to you,” said Nathan Foreman, Cynthia McLelland’s son.

Defense attorney Matthew Seymour told The Associated Press that he had no comment.

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Texas ex-official sentenced to death for murder of prosecutor"s wife in apparent revenge plot

VIDEO: Doctor on sister"s Ebola death

Dr Albert Benjamin’s sister, Dr Olivet Buck, was treating Ebola patients in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Last month she died after contracting the deadly virus.

Dr Benjamin spoke to the BBC about the horrific conditions in which his sister and other primary care workers in Freetown have been forced to operate.

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VIDEO: Doctor on sister"s Ebola death

More bodies push Nepal blizzard death toll to 38

Oct. 17, 2014: In this handout photo provided by the Nepalese army, rescue team members carry the body of an avalanche victim at Thorong La pass area in Nepal (AP Photo/Nepalese Army)

A rescue helicopter spotted nine more bodies Saturday on a trekking trail in northern Nepal, bringing the death toll to 38 from this week’s series of snow storms and avalanches in the worst  hiking disaster in the Himalayan nation.

The bodies were seen from the air in Dolpa district, but the steep terrain made it impossible for the helicopter to land, said Yadav Koirala from the Disaster Management Division in Katmandu.

The helicopter picked up three survivors and rescuers on foot would be sent to the area to retrieve the bodies, he said.

The victims are most likely Nepalese porters, said Ram Chandra Sharma of the Trekking Agents Association of Nepal.

Dolpa district is next to Manang and Mustang districts in the popular Annapurna mountain range trekking trail where most of the foreign trekkers and Nepalese guides and villagers were killed this week. Among the dead were Canadians, Indians, Israelis, Slovaks and Poles.

While more than 300 people have been rescued, sometimes plucked from mountainsides by helicopters and taken to nearby villages and towns, dozens more are still taking shelter in isolated mountain huts, said government administrator Yama Bahadur Chokhyal.

The snow storms were whipped by the tail end of a cyclone that hit the Indian coast a few days earlier. The weather has since improved and sunny skies and calm wind conditions were helping the rescue efforts.

Survivors of the blizzards that swept through the Annapurna trekking route said they were caught off-guard when the weather changed quickly.

The skies were clear at the start of the week, said Gombu Sherpa, who was guiding a group of Germans. But that changed suddenly when the snow blew in.

“We could hardly see anyone, even within a couple of feet. The wind was blowing snow and visibility was almost zero,” he said in a telephone interview after returning by bus to Katmandu. He said many people lost their way in the storm, but that everyone in his group survived.

One of his assistants, who was behind the group when the storm hit, was missing for an entire night, lost in the blizzard.

“We found him the next morning wandering in the snow. It is a miracle that he is alive,” he said.

Most of the people were on or near the Annapurna Circuit, a 140-mile trail through the mountain, the 10th-highest in the world.

The blizzard also left 14 people dead on Thorong La pass, north of Annapurna.

Five climbers — two Slovaks and three Nepalese guides — were killed in a separate avalanche about 45 miles to the west, at the base camp for Mount Dhaulagiri, the world’s seventh-highest peak.

The deaths are the worst hiking disaster in Nepal, where an avalanche in April just above the base camp on Mount Everest killed 16 Nepalese guides.

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More bodies push Nepal blizzard death toll to 38

"Negligence" behind Total boss death

21 October 2014 Last updated at 13:21 Russian investigators have said “criminal negligence” caused the crash at a Moscow airport that resulted in the death of Total’s chief executive.

Christophe de Margerie died along with three crew members when his corporate jet collided with a snow plough.

Federal investigators said that the driver of the snow plough was drunk.

Investigators also said that “negligent” managers at the airport had failed to co-ordinate the actions of their employees.

The Investigations Committee of Russia, a federal agency which answers to President Vladimir Putin, is investigating the crash.

“It is already obvious that the cause of the events was not at all a horrific tragic confluence of circumstances, which is how representatives of the airport are trying to present it, but criminal negligence by officials who could not ensure the coordinated actions of airport employees,” said committee spokesman Vladimir Markin.

Several officials at the airport were likely to be suspended, according to Mr Markin.

‘Bad visibility’

Russia’s transport regulator is also investigating the crash, which it said happened in “bad visibility”.

Mr de Margerie’s jet had been due to fly to Paris from Moscow’s Vnukovo International Airport.

Vnukovo is located south-west of Moscow and is used by President Putin and other government officials.

Pictures from the scene show the driver of the snow plough looking shocked, but walking unaided and without any obvious serious injury.

Mr de Margerie, 63, had been chief executive of Europe’s third largest oil company since 2007. He was highly regarded within the oil industry.

According to Russia’s Vedomosti newspaper, Mr de Margerie had met Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev at his country residence outside Moscow to discuss foreign investment in Russia.

Total is one of the biggest foreign investors in Russia and is planning to double its output from the country by 2020.

Analysis: Andrew Walker, Economics correspondent, BBC World Service

Christophe de Margerie leaves a large gap to be filled. He was a hugely influential figure in the global energy industry and a colourful and instantly recognisable character.

For colleagues as well as family, there’s no question that it’s a huge loss. But already the markets appear to think the company will cope. The board is seen as strong and a wobble in the share price seems to have been no more than that.

It is significant that Mr de Margerie was in Moscow. He took the view that the energy industry needed to go to difficult places. Russia is a prime example. A Total project there – a joint venture with Russia’s Lukoil to explore for shale oil – has come to a halt due to Western sanctions.

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"Negligence" behind Total boss death

Civil group lauds charging of cops in Mario Deane’s death

Saturday, September 27, 2014 | 1:21 PM    

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Civil lobby group Citizen’s Action for Principles and Integrity (CAPI) has commended INDECOM on its charging of three police officers over the killing of Mario Deane.

CAPI said the move is “encouraging and a major step in the journey towards justice for the Deane family”.

“The ruling sends a signal of intolerance for the lack of regard for the human rights of ordinary Jamaicans by agents of the State, and gives hope that those so inclined will be held accountable for their transgressions,” says CAPI’s co-convener Dennis Meadows.

The officers, Corporal Elaine Stewart, District Constables Juliana Clevon and Marlon Grant, were each charged Friday, September 26 with manslaughter, misconduct in a public office, and perverting the course of justice.

They were offered bail to return to court on October 3.

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Civil group lauds charging of cops in Mario Deane’s death

19-y-o held in stabbing death of schoolboy

Saturday, September 27, 2014 | 11:53 AM    

KINGSTON, Jamaica – A 19-year-old male of Irish Town, St Andrew has been held by the police for the stabbing death of a 14-year-old boy in the community.

OBSERVER ONLINE has been informed that the incident occurred about 4:35 pm yesterday, September 26 after the two got into a brawl.

The 14-year-old was pronounced dead at the Kingston Public Hospital.

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19-y-o held in stabbing death of schoolboy

Taxi man granted bail after death of mother, child

Rasbert Turner, Star Writer

The driver of the ill-fated car which resulted in the death of a mother and child has been granted bail in the sum of $1.5 million.

He is George Richardson, 62-year-old taxi operator of Hellshire Park, St Catherine.

He is charged with the deaths of Jaharian Durrant, who is in her 30s, and five-year-old Jascinth Haynes, both of Hellshire Heights, St Catherine.

When the case was mentioned in the Spanish Town Resident Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, attorney-at-Law Andrew Irving made a successful bail application.

He said Richardson was not a flight risk and will return for his trial. Bail was originally set at $2 million but the lawyer successfully asked that it be reduced. It was then reduced to $1.5 million with one, two or three sureties.

The accident occurred about 6 a.m. September 3, along the Hellshire main road in St Catherine.

It is said that Richardson was driving his 1999 Toyota Camry motor car with six passengers along the Hellshire main road. He allegedly overtook a line of traffic and crashed into a utility pole.

Durrant and Haynes were seated behind. They suffered serious injuries and were pronounced dead at hospital.

Richardson was among persons treated at hospital.

He is to reappear in the Spanish Town Resident Magistrate’s Court on December 9.

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Taxi man granted bail after death of mother, child

Man beaten to death by angry mob

The Police High Command is renewing its call for citizens to desist from participating in mob violence, but instead support the police and allow the justice system to take its course.

The call follows the latest mob incident that reportedly claimed the life of 34-year-old Granville Dyer of Solitaire Road, Kingston, who was allegedly mobbed by angry residents in Seivwright Gardens last Wednesday.

Dyer was taken to hospital for treatment, but succumbed to his injuries on Friday.

was a suspect

The 34-year-old was a suspect in a case being investigated by detectives from the St Andrew South Division and the Centre for Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse (CISOCA).

Acting Commissioner, Glenmore Hinds, is urging citizens not to take the law into their own hands, but to assist the police in the apprehension of criminal suspects.

“While we encourage citizens to support the police in the lawful arrest and prosecution of offenders, we cannot under any circumstance condone mob violence. It is a criminal act that must not be encouraged and we are investigating the killing of this suspect as a murder,” said Hinds, who encourage residents to tell what they know.

The police are appealing to witnesses to give any information they may have to assist in the investigation. Citizens can contact the St Andrew South police at 901-3121, CISOCA at 926-7318/926-6538, Crime Stop 311, police 119 emergency number or the nearest police station.

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Man beaten to death by angry mob

Suriname man hacks parents to death, torches home, SUV

PARAMARIBO, Suriname, Friday July 18, 2014, CMC - A 55-year old Suriname man killed his elderly parents on Wednesday and subsequently torched their home and an SUV.

The police confirmed that the gruesome incident took place in the community of Livorno several kilometers south of Paramaribo.

Police say the father, 77, died on the spot while his 76-year old wife succumbed to her injuries while being treated at hospital.

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Sources indicate neighbours rushed to the home on seeing the fire but the son, who had a machete was locked in the house.

On further investigations, the father was found at the back of the house, in a pool of blood, while the mother who was severely injured was lying in a hammock.

On arrival, the police held onto the son who then slashed both of his wrists in an apparent attempt to commit suicide.

He is currently nursing his wounds in hospital under police guard.

So far no motive has been established for the attack.

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Suriname man hacks parents to death, torches home, SUV

Suriname man hacks parents to death, torches home, SUV

PARAMARIBO, Suriname, Friday July 18, 2014, CMC - A 55-year old Suriname man killed his elderly parents on Wednesday and subsequently torched their home and an SUV.

The police confirmed that the gruesome incident took place in the community of Livorno several kilometers south of Paramaribo.

Police say the father, 77, died on the spot while his 76-year old wife succumbed to her injuries while being treated at hospital.

Click here to receive free news bulletins via email from Caribbean360. (View sample)

Sources indicate neighbours rushed to the home on seeing the fire but the son, who had a machete was locked in the house.

On further investigations, the father was found at the back of the house, in a pool of blood, while the mother who was severely injured was lying in a hammock.

On arrival, the police held onto the son who then slashed both of his wrists in an apparent attempt to commit suicide.

He is currently nursing his wounds in hospital under police guard.

So far no motive has been established for the attack.

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Suriname man hacks parents to death, torches home, SUV

Coroner's inquest to be held into controversial hotel shooting death

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has ruled that a Coroners Inquest be held into the controversial shooting death of a man at a hotel in the central parish of Manchester in 2011.

The ruling was handed down two days ago.

The man, said to be a supporter of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) was shot at a cocktail reception.
The event was attended by several JLP officials and activists, following a mass meeting in Central Manchester.

The Mandeville Police reported that a group of persons was at the hotel, when an argument developed and the man was shot.

Investigators collected statements from several JLP members who were present at the reception.
They are expected to give testimony at the Inquest.

Meanwhile, the real estate developer at the centre of the hotel shooting, is now in police custody.

He was picked up earlier this week by investigators from the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Task Force(MOCA).

The cops are investigating him for a recent shooting in Brown’s Town, St Ann.

He’s scheduled to face an identification parade on the weekend.

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Coroner"s inquest to be held into controversial hotel shooting death

Michael Jackson: a provider 5 years after his death

LOS ANGELES (AP) — It’s been five years since Michael Jackson died, yet his career is more alive than it has been in decades.

Just last month, the singer moonwalked across a Las Vegas stage in a nationally televised hologram performance. A new album recently debuted at No 2 on music charts. And a travelling Cirque du Soleil show based on Jackson’s songs has logged nearly 500 performances worldwide.

The result has been an estate that has earned more than $600 million since the King of Pop’s untimely death at age 50.

Some of the earnings support Jackson’s three children and mother. Yet an analysis by The Associated Press shows much more has gone to erase the singer’s massive debts and to run the estate that powers his robust posthumous career.

As would be expected, the last five years have brought their share of change and adjustment for Jackson’s children, known to the world as Prince, 17; Paris, 16; and Blanket, 12. They were at their father’s rented mansion on June 25, 2009, when he was given an overdose of the anaesthetic propofol in his upstairs bedroom. And they were at the hospital several hours later when he was pronounced dead. It would take more than two years before Jackson’s doctor was convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

A father who taught his children philanthropy, threw them lavish birthday parties and meticulously masked them from the paparazzi is gone. Michael Jackson, however, continues to provide.

Nearly $20 million had been spent to support Jackson’s children and his mother, Katherine, through 2012. Payments to the family have increased each year since June 2009, according to court records. Adulthood will bring a sizeable inheritance for each child.

In the meantime, lawyers have busily untangled Jackson’s finances, which itself has been expensive. Among the disbursements between mid-2009 and the end of 2012:

– More than $91 million on taxes and licenses, including $45 million paid to the federal government for taxes.

– More than $25 million in compensation for the estate’s executors, Jackson’s longtime attorney John Branca and family friend and music executive John McClain. The men receive a percentage of the estate’s earnings.

– More than $17 million to lawyers who represent the estate, Katherine and her grandchildren.

– Nearly $4 million to properly store and archive the trove of personal belongings and unreleased music that Jackson amassed during his lifetime.

While Jackson craved success, his priority in later years was his children. The trio is a large part of the singer’s legacy, and the music, dance moves and business pieces he left behind assure them a comfortable, if not care-free, lifestyle.

Jackson’s children live with their grandmother in a hilltop home in the celebrity enclave of Calabasas, home to the Kardashian family, Britney Spears and many others. The estate pays for private schools and tutors, a chef, private security and family vacations, giving the Jackson children the stability their father strived to provide.

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Michael Jackson: a provider 5 years after his death

Death of a Reggae Ambassador

BY HOWARD CAMPBELL Observer senior writer

Tuesday, February 04, 2014    

BUNNY Rugs was a struggling singer in 1976 when he went to a New York City club named the Bottom Line to see a band called Third World.

“It so happened that a friend of mine saw the advertisement in the Village Voice and called me and said ‘Are you going to see Third World?’ I said yes and changed my mind about five times,” Rugs told American author David Katz in 2003. “I eventually went to the concert and I’ve been with them from that day until now.”

Rugs, who died Sunday at his home in Orlando, Florida at age 65, was the voice of Third World for 37 years.

Colin Leslie, his close friend and a former member of Third World, said the singer passed away at 11:00 pm, surrounded by family and close friends.

Rugs, who would have turned 66 on Thursday, was released from the Intensive Care Unit of an Orlando hospital last week after receiving two weeks of treatment for leukemia.

During his last Jamaican performance with the band in December at a function organised by the National Commercial Bank in Kingston, Rugs spoke about his illness.

At the time, he said he was receiving holistic treatment.

Born William Clarke in Mandeville, Bunny Rugs’ early years as a musician was on the Kingston club scene in the early 1970s with the Inner Circle band.

He migrated to the United States during that period and worked the live circuit in New York City as a member of the band, Hugh Hendricks and the Buccaneers.

He returned to Jamaica in 1974 and hooked up with a band named the Bluegrass Experience which also included former Studio One session guitarist Eric Frater and Upsetters keyboardist Glen Adams.

After a stint with producer Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Rugs officially joined Third World in 1976, shortly after watching them at the

Bottom Line.

The band’s drummer at the time was Willie Stewart who had been a member for less than one year.

Yesterday, Stewart remembered Rugs as “a man who loved his art. He was never sad, always had a joke.”

Rugs’ first show with Third World was a Carifesta date at the Carib Theatre in 1976. He made his recording debut on the band’s album, 96 Degrees In The Shade, that year.

He sang lead on the title song as well as a number of their hits including Now That We Found Love, Always Around, Talk to Me, Reggae Ambassador and Sense of Purpose.

Along with founding members Stephen ‘Cat’ Coore (guitar) and Ibo Cooper (keyboards), bass player Richard Daley, Stewart and percussionist Irwin ‘Carrot’ Jarrett, Rugs was part of a classic Third World line-up that was signed to Island Records, CBS and

Mercury Records.

Rugs also recorded solo projects during breaks from Third World. He released the 15-track set Time on September 11, 2012.

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Death of
a Reggae
Ambassador