Fla. "hiccup girl" guilty of 1st degree murder

CLEARWATER, Fla. A Florida woman who became famous for her uncontrollable hiccupping was found guilty of first-degree murder Friday night and will serve life in prison without parole.

A Pinellas County jury deliberated for four hours before delivering the verdict against 22-year-old Jennifer Mee.

Mee wept in the Clearwater courtroom as the verdict was read. Minutes later, Judge Nancy Moate Ley explained that the only possible sentence for the charge was life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The verdict and five-day trial was a sad end to a chapter in Mee's short and sad life. Her attorneys said she suffered from schizophrenia and Tourette's Syndrome, and a court psychiatrist said Mee's intelligence was "low normal."

As a 15-year-old, Mee developed a case of the hiccups that wouldn't go away. She appeared on several TV shows and while on the "Today" show, was hugged by fellow guest and country music star Keith Urban. She tried home remedies and consulted medical specialists, a hypnotist and an acupuncturist, until the hiccups finally stopped on their own, though not for good.

Her attorney, John Trevena, said his client was on medication to control the hiccupping, and even then, she occasionally had bouts.

She hiccupped briefly during one day of her murder trial.

In 2010, Mee lured Shannon Griffin, a 22-year-old Wal-Mart worker, to an abandoned home under the pretense of buying marijuana. Once there, two of Mee's friends robbed Griffin at gunpoint — but he struggled and was shot four times.

Mee's co-defendant, LaRon Raiford, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in August. Lamont Newton, the other co-defendant who was also Mee's boyfriend at the time of the crime, has not yet gone to trial.

Trevena said his client did not orchestrate the robbery and that there wasn't enough evidence to convict her. But prosecutors said Mee did set everything up, and used police interviews and a taped jailhouse phone call between Mee and her mother as evidence.

During the call, she told her mother that she did not pull the trigger of the gun that killed Griffin, but that she was charged with murder.

"Because I set everything up," Mee explained during the call that was played for the jury. "It all went wrong, Mom. It just went downhill."

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Fla. "hiccup girl" guilty of 1st degree murder

CLEARWATER, Fla. A Florida woman who became famous for her uncontrollable hiccupping was found guilty of first-degree murder Friday night and will serve life in prison without parole.

A Pinellas County jury deliberated for four hours before delivering the verdict against 22-year-old Jennifer Mee.

Mee wept in the Clearwater courtroom as the verdict was read. Minutes later, Judge Nancy Moate Ley explained that the only possible sentence for the charge was life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The verdict and five-day trial was a sad end to a chapter in Mee's short and sad life. Her attorneys said she suffered from schizophrenia and Tourette's Syndrome, and a court psychiatrist said Mee's intelligence was "low normal."

As a 15-year-old, Mee developed a case of the hiccups that wouldn't go away. She appeared on several TV shows and while on the "Today" show, was hugged by fellow guest and country music star Keith Urban. She tried home remedies and consulted medical specialists, a hypnotist and an acupuncturist, until the hiccups finally stopped on their own, though not for good.

Her attorney, John Trevena, said his client was on medication to control the hiccupping, and even then, she occasionally had bouts.

She hiccupped briefly during one day of her murder trial.

In 2010, Mee lured Shannon Griffin, a 22-year-old Wal-Mart worker, to an abandoned home under the pretense of buying marijuana. Once there, two of Mee's friends robbed Griffin at gunpoint — but he struggled and was shot four times.

Mee's co-defendant, LaRon Raiford, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in August. Lamont Newton, the other co-defendant who was also Mee's boyfriend at the time of the crime, has not yet gone to trial.

Trevena said his client did not orchestrate the robbery and that there wasn't enough evidence to convict her. But prosecutors said Mee did set everything up, and used police interviews and a taped jailhouse phone call between Mee and her mother as evidence.

During the call, she told her mother that she did not pull the trigger of the gun that killed Griffin, but that she was charged with murder.

"Because I set everything up," Mee explained during the call that was played for the jury. "It all went wrong, Mom. It just went downhill."

View the original article here

Fla. "hiccup girl" guilty of 1st degree murder

CLEARWATER, Fla. A Florida woman who became famous for her uncontrollable hiccupping was found guilty of first-degree murder Friday night and will serve life in prison without parole.

A Pinellas County jury deliberated for four hours before delivering the verdict against 22-year-old Jennifer Mee.

Mee wept in the Clearwater courtroom as the verdict was read. Minutes later, Judge Nancy Moate Ley explained that the only possible sentence for the charge was life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The verdict and five-day trial was a sad end to a chapter in Mee's short and sad life. Her attorneys said she suffered from schizophrenia and Tourette's Syndrome, and a court psychiatrist said Mee's intelligence was "low normal."

As a 15-year-old, Mee developed a case of the hiccups that wouldn't go away. She appeared on several TV shows and while on the "Today" show, was hugged by fellow guest and country music star Keith Urban. She tried home remedies and consulted medical specialists, a hypnotist and an acupuncturist, until the hiccups finally stopped on their own, though not for good.

Her attorney, John Trevena, said his client was on medication to control the hiccupping, and even then, she occasionally had bouts.

She hiccupped briefly during one day of her murder trial.

In 2010, Mee lured Shannon Griffin, a 22-year-old Wal-Mart worker, to an abandoned home under the pretense of buying marijuana. Once there, two of Mee's friends robbed Griffin at gunpoint — but he struggled and was shot four times.

Mee's co-defendant, LaRon Raiford, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in August. Lamont Newton, the other co-defendant who was also Mee's boyfriend at the time of the crime, has not yet gone to trial.

Trevena said his client did not orchestrate the robbery and that there wasn't enough evidence to convict her. But prosecutors said Mee did set everything up, and used police interviews and a taped jailhouse phone call between Mee and her mother as evidence.

During the call, she told her mother that she did not pull the trigger of the gun that killed Griffin, but that she was charged with murder.

"Because I set everything up," Mee explained during the call that was played for the jury. "It all went wrong, Mom. It just went downhill."

View the original article here

Video: Nidal Hasan guilty on all 13 counts of premeditated murder

Nidal Hasan guilty on all 13 counts of premeditated murder 1:42 August 23, 2013

Nidal Hasan guilty on all 13 counts of premeditated murderThe CBS News Roundup: Jury convicts Fort Hood shooter, Obama proposes two-year law school and British company makes electronic tails for humans -- all this and more. Alexander Trowbridge reports on the news you need to know.

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Kankakee teen, 19, gets 59 years for murder of Manteno man

Michael Wilson, 19, the teen convicted of killing an unarmed Manteno man during a botched robbery attempt in December 2008 was sentenced Thursday to 59 years in prison.

"You are a very dangerous person," said Kankakee County Circuit Court Judge Kathy Bradshaw-Elliott, before handing down the sentence. "You don't care who you hurt. You don't care what the rules are. You don't care who makes the rules.

"Because you won't abide by the rules."

Wilson was 14 when he and another Kankakee teen, Byron Moore, lured Ryan Graefnitz, 23, into the vestibule of an apartment building promising that they could score him crack cocaine.

Moore, who was 17 at the time and facing similar charges, agreed to a 29-year sentence if he testified against Wilson. He told a jury that Wilson pulled the trigger. However, the gun — most likely a .22 caliber revolver — was never found.

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Video: Police 911 calls released of Okla. jogger's murder

Police 911 calls released of Okla. jogger's murder 7:17 August 20, 2013

Police 911 calls released of Okla. jogger's murderPolice say three Okla. teens shot a jogger in the back from their car as a thrill killing. CBS News obtained the 911 police calls from the incident.

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Video: Police 911 calls released of Okla. jogger's murder

Police 911 calls released of Okla. jogger's murder 7:17 August 20, 2013

Police 911 calls released of Okla. jogger's murderPolice say three Okla. teens shot a jogger in the back from their car as a thrill killing. CBS News obtained the 911 police calls from the incident.

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Second Ohio murder victim identified

23 July 2013 Last updated at 21:52 GMT Shetisha's was the second death in the Sheeley family in the past year The second of three women found dead wrapped in rubbish bags last week in an Ohio suburb has been identified.

Shetisha Sheeley, 28, had been missing since September. Her mother told local media that Sheeley had a 12-year-old daughter who was living with family.

Michael Madison, a convicted sex offender, has been charged with the murder of all three women.

The bodies were found in separate but nearby locations in East Cleveland, Ohio, on Friday and Saturday.

The first victim to be named was Angela Deskins, 38.

Both Deskins and Sheeley, who was found in a field, were ultimately identified by their fingerprints, the Cuyahoga County medical examiner said on Tuesday.

'Pray for me'

All three corpses were severely decomposed, including the third victim's remains, which are still unidentified.

Sheeley had been arrested in June 2012 for firing a weapon from a vehicle, but the case was dismissed three months later because there were no witnesses.

Her mother, Kim Sheeley, said she had told police her daughter was missing in September.

She also told a local broadcaster she feared the worst when her daughter did not appear for her own brother's funeral after he was shot and killed in December 2012.

Michael Madison previously pleaded guilty to attempted rape

"I don't know why this person did what they did to my daughter," Kim Sheeley said. "But I ask everyone to pray for me. This has been really, really hard on me."

Shetisha Sheeley's court-appointed lawyer, Michael Nelson, told the Associated Press the deceased woman had been unemployed and vulnerable.

"The streets are just mean," Mr Nelson said. "She was a vulnerable person, and with that it probably multiplied her risk."

During a press conference on Tuesday, East Cleveland Mayor Gary Norton said he had known Angela Deskins' family for 15 years, and that they had been very supportive of her.

Deskins was reported missing last month.

Madison, who is being held in Cuyahoga County jail on $6m (£3.9m) bail, was charged with three counts of aggravated murder and three counts of kidnapping on Monday. He pleaded guilty to charges of attempted rape in 2002.

On Friday, Madison was arrested at his mother's home hours after the first body was found nearby in a garage at his apartment block.

Police searched backyards and abandoned homes for more victims

Officials said the three dead bodies were found about 300-600ft (100-200m) apart.

The mayor also said the suspect indicated he had been influenced by a previous multiple murder case in neighbouring Cleveland.

Anthony Sowell, 52, was sentenced to death in 2011 after being convicted of killing 11 women, the remains of whom were found around his home.

Madison could face the death penalty or life in prison if convicted of the charges of aggravated murder.

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