Man faces 329 charges in abduction case
COLUMBUS, Ohio A man accused of holding three women captive in his run-down home in Cleveland for a decade and fathering a child with one of them has been indicted on 329 charges including murder, kidnapping and rape, prosecutors said.A Cuyahoga County grand jury returned the indictment Friday against Ariel Castro, a former school bus driver fired last fall.
Castro, 52, is accused of kidnapping Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight and holding them captive along with a 6-year-old girl he fathered with Berry.The grand jury charged Castro with two counts of aggravated murder related to one act, saying he purposely caused the unlawful termination of one of the womens pregnancies. Castro also was indicted on 139 counts of rape, 177 counts of kidnapping, seven counts of gross sexual imposition, three counts of felonious assault and one count of possession of criminal tools.
Texas actress charged in Obama ricin threat
TEXARKANA, Texas A pregnant Texas actress who told the FBI her husband had sent ricin-tainted letters to President Barack Obama and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, then allegedly said her husband made her mail the letters, was charged Friday with threatening the president.
Shannon Guess Richardson, 35, appeared in a Texarkana courtroom after being charged with mailing a threatening communication to the president. The federal charge carries up to 10 years in prison, U.S. attorneys office spokeswoman Davilyn Walston said.
Richardson, a mother of five who has played bit roles in television shows, was arrested earlier Friday for allegedly mailing the ricin-laced letters last month to the White House, Bloomberg and the mayors Washington gun-control group.
Worker to be charged in Pa. building collapse
PHILADELPHIA A 42-year-old man who was allegedly high while operating demolition equipment when a downtown building collapsed and killed six people will be charged with involuntary manslaughter, a top city official said Friday.
Sean Benschop faces six counts on that charge, six counts of risking catastrophe and other charges, said Deputy Mayor Everett Gillison.
Authorities have said Benschop had been using an excavator Wednesday when what was left of the four-story building gave way and fell on top of a neighboring Salvation Army thrift store.
A toxicology report, witness statements and other evidence shows Benschop was high on marijuana that day, Gillison said.
Associated Press
