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School drops archbishop's name amid sex abuse report fallout
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- A Roman Catholic high school will shed the name of Washington's archbishop after he was cited in a sweeping grand jury report as having allowed priests accused of sexually abusing children to be reassigned or reinstated while he was Pittsburgh's bishop.
The Diocese of Pittsburgh said Wednesday that Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl made the request to remove his name from Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic High School, and that school and diocese officials accepted it.
The sign out front of the suburban Pittsburgh school was discovered vandalized Monday, with red spray paint obscuring Wuerl's name as some Catholics called for his resignation or ouster, and a petition circulated to remove his name from the high school.
The 77-year-old Wuerl has defended himself, saying he acted to protect children, promptly investigate allegations and strengthen policies as understanding of child abuse evolved. He has said he will not resign.
In its statement, the Pittsburgh Diocese cited what it said was Wuerl's Aug. 16 letter: "In light of the circumstances today and lest we in any way detract from the purpose of Catholic education … I respectfully ask you to remove my name from it. In this way, there should be no distraction from the great success of the school and, most importantly, the reason for the school -- the students."
Wuerl was Pittsburgh's bishop from 1988 through 2006.
In one case cited in the grand jury report released Aug. 14, Wuerl -- acting on a doctor's recommendation -- enabled priest William O'Malley to return to active ministry as a canonical consultant in 1998 despite allegations of abuse lodged against him in the past and his own admission that he was sexually interested in adolescents.
In his appointment letter, Wuerl wrote, "At the same time I welcome you back to priestly ministry following your leave of absence for personal reasons. Your willingness to serve in this capacity and to be of assistance … is a sign of your dedication and priestly zeal," the grand jury report said.
Years later, according to the report, six more people alleged that they had been sexually assaulted by O'Malley, in some cases after he had been reinstated.
In another case, Wuerl returned a priest to active ministry in 1995, despite having received multiple complaints that the priest, George Zirwas, had molested boys in the late 1980s.
Arkansas man gets 50 years for road rage killing of toddler
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -- An Arkansas man who fired his gun into another driver's car and killed a 3-year-old boy in the back seat was sentenced Wednesday to 50 years in prison without the possibility for parole.
Jurors found Gary Eugene Holmes guilty of first-degree murder and terroristic threatening in the December 2016 death of Acen King. Holmes received 45 years for the killing and five years for threats.
The boy's grandmother says she was stopped at a stop sign in Little Rock when Holmes honked his horn, got out of his car and fired into her car. A police affidavit says a woman who was in Holmes' car told investigators he was angry because he thought the car behind him was tailing him too closely.
Acen was shot in the back and died later that night at a hospital.
Acen's grandmother, Kim King-Macon, said she did not know Acen had been shot until she arrived at a shopping center about 10 miles away.
Juror deliberated for fewer than 30 minutes before returning the guilty verdict.
Gashon Bell, Acen's mother, read aloud a statement before sentencing in which she said she has forgiven Holmes.
"As bad as I want to hate you… I just can't," Bell said.
Holmes's mother said she didn't think her son was "in his right mind" when he shot at the vehicle. She also described injuries her son sustained as a child and battles with depression.
Defense Attorney Ron Davis said Holmes plans to appeal.
Police: Genealogy helps ID rape suspect in decade-old cases
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Investigators compared online family tree data with crime-scene DNA evidence to identify and track down a suspect in a series of North Carolina rapes from a decade ago, police said Wednesday.
One of the lead detectives called the approach, similar to what was used in the "Golden State Killer" cold case in California, a "game-changer" for investigators who had few leads in the assaults that terrorized Fayetteville starting in 2006.
Darold Wayne Bowden, 43, has been charged with multiple rape counts related to six assaults from 2006 to 2008, the Fayetteville Police Department said in a news release.
Lt. John Somerindyke told The Associated Press that he has reached five of the six victims, all of whom have left Fayetteville.
"To say they were ecstatic would be an understatement," he said. "They're all very pleased with the outcome."
To crack the case, Somerindyke said police submitted crime-scene DNA evidence to a company that compared it with online genealogical data uploaded by relatives of the suspect to ancestry research websites.
The company narrowed their search to Bowden as a person of interest, and investigators obtained a current sample of his DNA to confirm his link to the crimes, the detective said. He declined to say how they obtained the current sample, which was tested by the state crime lab, because they plan to use similar methods in other cases.
Somerindyke said comparing DNA evidence with genealogical data -- the same search method that helped lead investigators in California to alleged Golden State Killer Joseph James DeAngelo in April -- is a "game-changer" for the department.
"It's bringing all our cold cases to life," he said.
DNA in one case is ready to be sent to the company called Parabon NanoLabs, while the department is requesting funding to send evidence from two other cases, he said.
Police said they didn't know if Bowden has a lawyer, and the public defender's office didn't immediately respond to an email asking if they were representing him. A message left at a phone listing for Bowden, who was being held in jail, wasn't returned.
Tweet over deli packaging gets gov's attention, and a change
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) -- A supermarket customer's tweet on stickers placed over the opening of bagged deli meats got the attention of New Hampshire's governor, and a change.
NH1 reports Londonderry Town Manager Kevin Smith recently took to Twitter to ask that the company, Market Basket, not put the price tag stickers over the zipper of the meat bag. He said it's impossible to open it without destroying the bag.
Gov. Chris Sununu responded, saying he has to re-bag cheese every time because of the problem.
Market Basket answered that it would speak to its deli departments about it.