Heather Mack ordered to stay in jail pending trial - FOX 32 Chicago

Heather Mack ordered to stay in jail pending trial

Heather Mack made a dramatic return to the United States in November 2021 after serving seven years in Indonesia for helping kill her 62-year-old mother.

CHICAGO - A federal judge Thursday rejected Heather Mack’s request to be released from jail while she awaits trial for conspiring to have her mother killed overseas in 2014.

The ruling was made by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly.

Sheila von Wiese-Mack’s grisly killing kicked off a complicated, international legal saga that has yet to be resolved and now also involves a bitter custody battle over Mack’s daughter, 7-year-old Estelle Schaefer.

Mack made a dramatic return to the United States in November 2021 after serving seven years in Indonesia for helping kill her 62-year-old mother. Though some thought she might walk free, a separate murder conspiracy indictment was instead unsealed against Mack in U.S. District Court in Chicago just as her flight neared O’Hare Airport.

She was arrested at the airport and has been in U.S. custody ever since. Her criminal case has been relatively quiet until now, as her lawyers sort through an apparent mountain of evidence. Her trial is set for July 31, and she faces up to life in prison if convicted.

SUBSCRIBE TO FOX 32 ON YOUTUBE

When the possibility of Mack’s release was initially raised after her arrest last year, prosecutors referenced the many visits made by Oak Park police to the Mack home before the murder. Von Wiese-Mack had accused her daughter of biting her repeatedly and punching her in her already broken ankle during an argument over household chores.

In all, Oak Park police said in 2014 they were called 86 times in 10 years to the Mack home.

Prosecutors wrote in a court filing this week that Mack has a history of mental health issues. In an email about a month before von Wiese-Mack was killed, she purportedly wrote that Mack "told me today that she would kill me and then others she ‘hates’ before killing herself if I try to get her admitted to a psych ward …. She is truly out of her mind …. I am more worried than ever."

Meanwhile, Cook County Judge Stephanie Miller has been dealing with the separate custody dispute that has developed around Mack’s daughter, who is known as Stella. Last month, Miller ordered Stella into the temporary care of Lisa Hellmann, a maternal cousin of Mack’s.

Mack opposed that move, and she sought to be released from custody days later. Hellman’s mother is von Wiese-Mack’s sister. Mack told Miller last month that, if she is released, she hopes to regain custody of the girl and live with Diana Roque Ellis of California.

Hellmann and Ellis are among four people seeking custody of Stella before Miller.

Von Wiese-Mack’s body was discovered in a suitcase left outside the St. Regis Bali Resort on Aug. 12, 2014. Mack was arrested the next day, along with her then-boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer.

Federal prosecutors have said von Wiese-Mack was bludgeoned to death with the metal handle of a fruit stand so that Mack, Schaefer and Schaefer’s cousin, Robert Bibbs, could enrich themselves with the proceeds of von Wiese-Mack’s $1.5 million estate.

Prosecutors alleged earlier this week that, during the murder, Mack covered von Wiese-Mack’s mouth after Schaefer hit her.

Court records show Mack and Schaefer traded text messages ranging from giddy to tense all the way up to the killing, calling each other Bonnie and Clyde and using the phrase "saying hi" as code for the crime.

The couple later took a loaded luggage cart to the resort’s entrance and placed a large suitcase and other items in the trunk of a taxi. Then, they went back inside the resort and fled through another exit. Von Wiese-Mack’s body was then found stuffed in the suitcase.

Mack gave birth to Stella during the couple’s ensuing 2015 trial. Schaefer was sentenced to 18 years in prison for beating von Wiese-Mack to death, and Mack was sentenced to 10 years for helping. Schaefer remains behind bars overseas but also faces charges in the United States.

Bibbs was prosecuted in Chicago’s federal court for encouraging and advising the couple on the murder from the United States. He was sentenced in 2017 to nine years in prison and is due to be released in February 2025.

Still, prosecutors said he was "significantly less culpable than Schaefer and Mack."

Adblock test (Why?)

Heather Mack ordered to stay in jail pending trial - FOX 32 Chicago
Read More

Services Pending | Ponca City News - Ponca City News

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

Services Pending | Ponca City News  Ponca City News
Services Pending | Ponca City News - Ponca City News
Read More

Charges pending after dog found severely neglected in Ohio - WDTN.com

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

Charges pending after dog found severely neglected in Ohio  WDTN.com
Charges pending after dog found severely neglected in Ohio - WDTN.com
Read More

Accused killer jailed pending trial in shooting over loose dog - NJ.com

The man accused in a fatal shooting after a dispute over a loose dog in Gloucester County will remain behind bars while he awaits trial, a judge ruled.

Zachary A. Lahneman was looking for a fight and has offered shifting accounts of what happened, according to the prosecution, while his defense attorney argued that her client’s history of head injuries could be a factor in the case.

Lahneman, 26, is charged with murder in the Nov. 16 killing of Victor Marrero Jr., 39, in the parking lot of the Birches apartment complex in Washington Township.

Lahneman was armed with a handgun when he exited the apartment where he lived with his father and grandfather, and confronted Marrero over his German shepherd, Assistant Prosecutor Joseph Brook said during a Tuesday hearing in Superior Court.

Marrero and his family live next door to the complex and the dog had gotten loose that morning, according to the victim’s family, who said he had gone to retrieve the pet.

A witness at a golf course adjoining the apartment complex told investigators that a verbal argument, with Lahneman yelling at Marrero, soon turned physical with the pair shoving each other. Marrero was backing away when the witness heard two gunshots, Brook said.

Marrero died in the parking lot.

Police found Lahneman at the complex. He had a folding knife and brass knuckles in his possession, Brook said, adding that the alleged murder weapon was found in the man’s apartment.

In video recorded interviews with investigators, Lahneman offered changing scenarios of what happened, according to Brook. He initially claimed Marrero punched him in the face and that he blacked out and didn’t recall what happened afterward, Brook said. He later said that Marrero went after his gun and that he had to defend himself, Brook said.

“So he either has no memory or quite a bit of a memory, but all of this seems, at least what he is verbalizing, terribly inaccurate,” Brook said. “Mr. Marrero was shot in the back and we have the witness saying Mr. Marrero was backing away from the argument before the shots rang out.”

The police station recordings, both of Lahneman in the company of investigators and while alone, show him reciting versions of what happened, the prosecutor added.

Assistant Deputy Public Defender Katherine Constantine Blinn argued that the full picture of what played out between the men that day isn’t entirely clear yet, noting that the witness was 75 to 80 yards away.

While Brook said the physical violence amounted to shoving, Blinn stated that Marrero assaulted Lahneman and that the defendant had documented injuries to his face. Blinn added that she was not suggesting this was a justification for the shooting.

“Exactly how this devolved from that physical confrontation into a shooting, I think, judge, remains to be seen,” the attorney told Superior Court Judge Linda Lawhun.

A key factor in the case could be Lahneman’s cognitive abilities because of his “history of head injuries,” Blinn said, including a recent incident in which he was “severely assaulted.”

While Lahneman was born in New Jersey, he grew up in Maine and only moved back to the Garden State in the last few years, Blinn said. He has a very supportive family and arrangements could be made for him to stay with them if released, she said.

In arguing that Lahneman posed a risk to the public if released, Brook argued that the man took it upon himself to leave his apartment with a gun to start an argument and that he wouldn’t stop yelling at Marrero.

“It does not take long for that person to end up dead,” Brook said. Even if Marrero had punched the defendant, “he is not entitled to shoot someone in response,” the prosecutor said. “That is murder.”

Brook also stated that Lahneman acknowledged getting into fights at work and described the defendant as a “quarrelsome young man who was looking for an opportunity to use his firearm to defend himself.”

Brook also pointed to the recordings of Lahneman’s time in police custody as evidence that he is a flight risk.

“He no less than 20 times yells that he is getting out of this state and going back to Maine as soon as possible,” the prosecutor recounts. “He has a settled intent to leave New Jersey. He doesn’t like New Jersey, he doesn’t like New Jersey’s rules about guns … he wants to go back to Maine. He says it over and over and over again.”

To bolster his point that Lahneman has nothing keeping him here, Brook noted that his mother still lives in Maine, said the man sleeps on the floor of the New Jersey apartment where he resides and “speaks about his grandfather, who has the apartment, with absolute disdain.”

On the issue of Lahneman leaving the state, Blinn responded that the intention, if Lahneman was released by the judge, would be for him to stay with his mother in Maine, which would provide a stable setting while he awaits trial.

After reviewing the matter, Lawhun found there was no way to ensure the public’s safety if Lahneman was released, so the judge ordered him held pending trial.

He is scheduled to return to court Jan. 12 for a pre-indictment hearing.

At the time of his death, Marrero and his partner, Sherry Beatty, were preparing to move to California with their three kids to open a restaurant and start a new life, Beatty said last month.

She remembered Marrero as “an intense, loving father” who was devoted to his family.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com.

Adblock test (Why?)

Accused killer jailed pending trial in shooting over loose dog - NJ.com
Read More

Arrangements pending for funeral of Elaine Harris - Bluffton Icon

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

Arrangements pending for funeral of Elaine Harris  Bluffton Icon
Arrangements pending for funeral of Elaine Harris - Bluffton Icon
Read More

Pending Home Sales Declined 4.6% in October - NAR.realtor

WASHINGTON (November 30, 2022) – Pending home sales slid for the fifth consecutive month in October, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Three of four U.S. regions recorded month-over-month decreases, and all four regions recorded year-over-year declines in transactions.

The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI)*, www.nar.realtor/pending-home-sales, a forward-looking indicator of home sales based on contract signings, sank 4.6% to 77.1 in October. Year-over-year, pending transactions slipped by 37.0%. An index of 100 is equal to the level of contract activity in 2001.

"October was a difficult month for home buyers as they faced 20-year-high mortgage rates," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. "The West region, in particular, suffered from the combination of high interest rates and expensive home prices. Only the Midwest squeaked out a gain."

"The upcoming months should see a return of buyers, as mortgage rates appear to have already peaked and have been coming down since mid-November."

Pending Home Sales Regional Breakdown

The Northeast PHSI sank 4.3% from last month to 68.7, a fall of 29.5% from October 2021. The Midwest index increased 3.3% to 83.5 in October, a decrease of 32.1% from one year ago.

The South PHSI dropped 6.4% to 90.6 in October, falling 38.2% from the prior year. The West index slipped by 11.3% in October to 55.6, sinking 46.2% from October 2021.

The National Association of REALTORS® is America's largest trade association, representing more than 1.5 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

# # #

*The Pending Home Sales Index is a leading indicator for the housing sector, based on pending sales of existing homes. A sale is listed as pending when the contract has been signed but the transaction has not closed, though the sale usually is finalized within one or two months of signing.

Pending contracts are good early indicators of upcoming sales closings. However, the amount of time between pending contracts and completed sales is not identical for all home sales. Variations in the length of the process from pending contract to closed sale can be caused by issues such as buyer difficulties with obtaining mortgage financing, home inspection problems, or appraisal issues.

The index is based on a sample that covers about 40% of multiple listing service data each month. In developing the model for the index, it was demonstrated that the level of monthly sales-contract activity parallels the level of closed existing-home sales in the following two months.

An index of 100 is equal to the average level of contract activity during 2001, which was the first year to be examined. By coincidence, the volume of existing-home sales in 2001 fell within the range of 5.0 to 5.5 million, which is considered normal for the current U.S. population.

NOTE: Existing-Home Sales for November will be reported on December 21. The next Pending Home Sales Index will be on December 28. All release times are 10 a.m. Eastern.

Adblock test (Why?)

Pending Home Sales Declined 4.6% in October - NAR.realtor
Read More

Batesville woman strangled, stabbed; charges pending against son – WRBI Radio - Country 103.9 WRBI

Batesville, IN — A Batesville woman was flown to an Indianapolis hospital after she was strangled and stabbed, allegedly by her son.

Batesville police officers responded to the Golden Villa Apartments on Boehringer Street around 9 pm Thursday after Heather Mulcahy’s family requested a welfare check.

Officers arrived to find Mulcahy on her bedroom floor suffering from stab wounds to the neck and upper body and a bloody knife at the foot of her bed.

At about the same time, police also spotted her son, Dalton Hall, in the apartment complex hallway.

Mulcahy received emergency treatment and was taken by medical helicopter to the hospital.

Officers say she told Batesville EMS that she was strangled and stabbed by Hall several times.

Police spoke to several witnesses early Friday, including Abraham Hall, who is Dalton Hall’s brother and Mulcahy’s son from the Hamilton, Ohio area.

Police say Abraham Hall indicated to investigators that Dalton Hall asked him earlier in the day where he could get a good knife.

Investigators obtained a search warrant and collected physical evidence from Mulcahy’s apartment and Dalton Hall’s person for forensic analysis.

Dalton Hall was arrested by Batesville Police and is being held in the Ripley County Jail on a $1,000,000 cash bond.

The Ripley County Prosecutor’s Office is evaluating the case to determine what criminal charges are appropriate.

Adblock test (Why?)

Batesville woman strangled, stabbed; charges pending against son – WRBI Radio - Country 103.9 WRBI
Read More