Court Digest

Tennessee
Woman convicted of killing husband, hiding body in attic
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee woman has been convicted of suffocating her husband and hiding his body inside a plastic tub in the attic of their home.

A jury in Memphis found Latosha Starks-Twilley, 43, guilty of first-degree murder on Thursday, the Shelby County district attorney’s office said. She faces a life sentence in the death of Waddell Twilley, 47.

Trial witnesses testified that Twilley was reported missing in June 2016, while his car was still parked in the driveway of the family’s home.

Starks-Twilley said she did not know of her husband’s whereabouts. When the couple’s son called his father’s cellphone, it could be heard ringing inside an upstairs wall, prosecutors said.

Neighbors called police. Authorities found Twilley’s body inside a plastic tub hidden in an attic crawl space.

The body was encased in concrete and covered with clothes, dirt, and cigarette butts. Twilley’s hands and feet were handcuffed, and his head was covered in plastic wrap and duct tape.

Alabama
Man charged with breaking into jail to make delivery
TROY, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama man was charged with breaking into a county jail to make a delivery of cigarettes, marijuana, cellphones and chargers, authorities said.

Workers using a security monitoring system saw a man coming through the fence surrounding the Pike County Jail about 2 a.m. Monday, Sheriff Russell Thomas told WSFA-TV.

Jadakis McKinney, 19, of Enter­prise was arrested and charged with criminal trespassing, promoting prison contraband and marijuana possession.

Thomas said officials hoped to reduce the amount of illegal items being brought into the lockup, which will be replaced with a new jail set to open in late 2023.

“We were aware that there were contraband, that there had been some coming in. We’d lock the jail down at night. So, you know, inmates are always running scams. Just because they’re locked up doesn’t mean they stop doing what they’re doing,” Thomas said.

McKinney was held in the jail with bail set at $23,500 and a crew was working to repair fences, the sheriff said. Court records don’t include the name of a defense lawyer who could speak on McKinney’s behalf.

Minnesota
Hospital sued by employees fired for refusing vaccine
NORTHFIELD, Minn. (AP) — Some medical professionals are suing a city-owned hospital in southeastern Minnesota after they were terminated for refusing to receive the coronavirus vaccine.

The 20 plaintiffs, which include a doctor, registered nurses and other medical staff, filed their lawsuit in U.S. District Court Monday alleging they were fired without just cause. They claim Northfield Hospital and Clinics in Northfield failed to accommodate their religious beliefs and serious health conditions as reasons for rejecting the vaccine.

“We stand by our vaccination policy. COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective at preventing illness and spread of virus,” said Betsy Spethmann, a hospital spokeswoman. “Full vaccination of our staff is the best way to protect our patients, staff, and community.”

Nearly 4,000 lawsuits challenging vaccination mandates have been filed nationwide, according to Fisher & Phillips, an Atlanta-based law firm that tracks COVID-19 lawsuits, the  Star Tribune  reported.

The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has said that employers can require vaccinations, subject to certain medical or religious exemptions. The agency recommends that employers discuss the issue with employees seeking exemptions.

The plaintiffs’ attorney, Andrew Parker, says that’s where Northfield failed. Several of the fired Northfield health care workers said they were given no hearing and no opportunity to explain their views.

“I was a very dedicated employee for almost 14 years, and I feel like I was just tossed away,” said registered nurse Ellen Tichich. “Nobody ever sat down and talked to me.”


Virginia
Man pleads guilty in deaths of girlfriend and their 2 infants
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — A Norfolk man has pleaded guilty to the murder of his girlfriend and their two infant children, authorities said.

DuWayne Warren, 27, pleaded guilty Monday morning to three counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of his girlfriend and their son last December, along with their daughter 12 months earlier, news outlets reported.

Warren’s most recent victims were Epifani Andrews, 22 and their 3-month-old son Damere. Their bodies were found on Dec. 29 in the couple’s living room of their apartment. About 12 months earlier, the couple’s 3-month-old daughter Evonne died under what the medical examiner initially ruled an undetermined death.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that Andrews and Damere were beaten and Andrews was cut and stabbed more than 25 times. The medical examiner also determined Evonne died of suffocation.

Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 4. Warren faces from five to 40 years on each of the three murder convictions.

Maryland
Man accused of two murders within 35 minutes
BALTIMORE (AP) — Baltimore police have charged a man in connection with two shootings about 35 minutes and five miles apart.

According to police, surveillance video footage and witnesses point to Shawn Brewton, 51, shooting Santiago Loyal, 41, on Aug. 11, in front of a vacant home in East Baltimore, The Baltimore Sun reported.

That same night, police also allege Brewton, along with a second man, fatally shot William Smith, 38.

Police obtained arrests warrants Sept. 21 for the killing of Smith, and Brewton was picked up Oct. 6 and held without bond. Charges in the killing of Loyal were filed Oct. 13.

Brewton pleaded guilty in 2017 to rifle or shotgun possession with a felony conviction and was sentenced to 15 years in prison, with 12 years suspended, the newspaper reported. Court records didn’t list an attorney for Brewton.

Louisiana
Ex-sheriff guilty in state sex case awaits fraud trial
COVINGTON, La. (AP) — A former Louisiana sheriff is facing life in prison after being convicted of multiple sexual abuse charges.

New Orleans-area news outlets report that former St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Jack Strain was convicted Monday. The charges involved juvenile victims and included four counts of aggravated rape, which carries a mandatory life sentence. The allegations included crimes that took place before and during his time as sheriff.

Strain, 58, served as St. Tammany sheriff for two decades, losing a bid for a sixth term in 2015.

Strain is also facing federal charges relating to an inmate work-release contract. He has pleaded not guilty in that case, which has ties to the state sex charges.

A co-defendant who pleaded guilty in the federal case became a witness in the state case, testifying that he had been molested by Strain as a child. That victim said that, as an adult, he had gone to work for Strain at the sheriff’s office when he was deeply in debt. The man said Strain pressured him to join the work-release scheme.

The jury heard testimony from five men who said Strain shattered their childhoods with acts that still haunt them. One said the abuse contributed to a substance abuse problem.

A counselor for one victim testified that the man had developed PTSD and had nightmares about the abuse.

Another accuser was a family member of Strain who said he was molested while he was a sophomore in high school.

“The evidence was compelling, overwhelming and convincing,” District Attorney Warren Montgomery said during a news conference after the verdict.

North Dakota
Woman sentenced to 7 years for killing boyfriend
FARGO, N.D. (AP) — A Fargo woman has been sentenced to serve seven years in prison for fatally stabbing her boyfriend.

Thirty-four-year-old Terin Stately had previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter in an agreement with prosecutors after she was initially charged with murder.

Stately told the judge in Cass County District Court Monday that she did not intend to kill 27-year-old Keanen Poitra at their Fargo apartment in May 2020 and that the stabbing was the result of ongoing drug use and abuse.

Stately's attorneys portrayed her as being stuck in a cycle of domestic violence.

Stately told investigators that she and Poitra had argued about him seeing other women. She said she grabbed a steak knife to keep Poitra away from her. The stab wound severed an artery, causing Poitra's death.

Prosecutor Ryan Younggren argued for a 15-year sentence, citing Stately's criminal history.

She was sentenced to 40 months in federal prison after driving a getaway car during a 2011 robbery on the Red Lake Indian Reservation in Minnesota. The robbery resulted in the deaths of two people, but she was not charged in those deaths.

Missouri
Man charged in 2020 killing of pregnant woman
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A 19-year-old man has been charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death last year of a pregnant Kansas City woman as she was pushing her baby in a stroller.

David Everson was charged Monday in the July 2020 death of 20-year-old Diamon Eichelburger. He also faces a charge of armed criminal action in Eichelburger’s killing.

Everson is the second person charged in Eichelburger’s death. Last year, police arrested Jovon Burrell in the killing, saying he was driving the car from which Eichelburger was shot.

Police have said Eichelburger was pushing a stroller holding her 1-year-old child and walking with her boyfriend at a convenience store when a car pulled up and someone inside it asked if she was Diamon. When she confirmed her identity, someone in the car shot her several times, witnesses told police. The child in the stroller was not hurt.

Washington
Teen to be tried as adult in murder of man
MOSES LAKE, Wash. (AP) — A Moses Lake teenager will be tried as an adult in the September murder of a 21-year-old man.

According to information from the Grant County Superior Court Clerk’s Office, 17-year-old Dom­i­nick Kultgen was charged Oct. 29 with premeditated first-degree murder, The Columbia Basin Herald reported.

Juveniles can be tried as adults in Washington, according to law, including when the suspect is at least 15 and is charged with a serious violent offense.

Police say Brandon Dick of Moses Lake was killed sometime overnight between Sept. 7 and Sept. 8.

A man walking his dog saw Dick’s body at about 10:24 a.m. in a marshy area north of Montlake Park, police said. The person then called 911.

Dick’s death was caused by a gunshot wound to the head, according to the Grant County Coroner’s Office.

Moses Lake police arrested Kultgen Nov. 1. He is in custody with a $1.5 million bail. It wasn’t immediately known if he has a lawyer to comment on his case.