Southwest
Texas man convicted after saying he mutilated victims, ate human heart as part of 'ritualistic sacrifices'
A Texas man was convicted of killing three people, dismembering them and burning their bodies after admitting to investigators that he was called to “commit sacrifices.”
Jason Thornburg was found guilty of capital murder on Wednesday and now, the same Tarrant County jury that convicted him must determine whether he receives a death sentence or if he will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to Fox 4.
In September 2021, Thornburg killed three people, dismembered their bodies and stored them under his bed at a motel in Euless, Texas, before lighting the bodies on fire inside a dumpster in Fort Worth.
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Thornburg confessed to investigators that he felt a compulsion to commit “ritualistic sacrifices” and that he ate a victim’s heart and other parts of the victims’ bodies.
His attorneys argued he was insane when he carried out the murders and suffered from a severe mental disease.
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When he was arrested on murder allegations, Thornburg confessed to police he killed his roommate in May 2021 during a suspicious home explosion and his girlfriend in Arizona back in 2017.
These two previous murders were brought up in court on Thursday when the punishment aspect of the trial began.
The victims’ families cannot speak publicly until the punishment phase is finished.
Read the full article from Here
Los Angeles, Ca
Vehicle, 2 occupants plunge into crowded Southern California harbor
Two people were taken to the hospital after a vehicle they were inside plunged into the harbor Sunday night in Marina Del Rey, officials confirmed to KTLA.
Details are limited and It’s unclear exactly how the incident occurred, but authorities with the Los Angeles County Fire Department responded to 4675 Admiralty Way just after 6 p.m. on reports of the vehicle in the water.
L.A. County Fire Department Public Information Officer Marco Rodriguez said the two occupants were able to get themselves out of the vehicle after it went into the water.
Both were examined by medical personnel with the fire department and taken to a nearby hospital in unknown condition.
Rodriguez said that two L.A. County Lifeguard divers were deployed to ensure there were no other occupants trapped in the vehicle.
A witness, Johnny Hamcheck, told KTLA that a third person, a woman, exited the vehicle before it went into water, though officials did not confirm that detail.
Footage of the recovery effort showed crews attaching large yellow floating devices to the vehicle as it was anchored to a crane and eventually pulled out of the water and loaded onto a tow truck.
The vehicle showed heavy front-end damage, presumably from crashing through the steel railing and into the water.
An investigation into the crash is ongoing and no further details were provided.
Southwest
24 states' attorneys general call on Supreme Court to keep biological boys out of girls sports
Attorneys general from 24 states are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ruling and uphold an Arizona law to prohibit biological boys from competing on girls’ sports teams.
The petition comes after a federal appeals court ruled that the law likely violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.
“Sports teams are divided by sex to begin with to give girls a level playing field so they’re not competing against boys,” South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said in a news release. “Arizona’s law restricting girls’ sports teams to biological females is just common sense, and it protects girls from competing against bigger, stronger males who identify as females.”
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In addition to Wilson, the attorneys general supporting the petition are those from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming.
The petition notes that these states have laws similar to Arizona’s that restrict girls’ sports to biological females.
It also argues that the Equal Protection Clause does not prohibit states from offering separate sports teams for men, women, boys and girls.
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“In sports, equal access means a level playing field,” the attorneys general write in their brief. “And a level playing field usually means sports teams divided by sex so that girls can compete against other girls.”
“Basing the distinction on biology rather than gender identity makes sense because it is the differences in biology—not gender identity—that call for separate teams in the first place: Whatever their gender identity, biological males are, on average, stronger and faster than biological females. If those average physical differences did not matter, there would be no need to segregate sports teams at all,” they continued.
The attorneys general are asking the high court to “make it clear that the Constitution does not prohibit states from saving women’s sports from unfair competition and providing meaningful athletic opportunities for girls and women,” according to Wilson’s news release.
Read the full article from Here
Los Angeles, Ca
Armed robbers hit couple in broad daylight on high-end Beverly Hills street
Two people were hospitalized after a broad daylight armed robbery on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills Sunday, police confirmed to KTLA.
Officers with the Beverly Hills Police Department responded to the 400 block of North Rodeo Drive, at the intersection of Brighton Way just before 1:30 p.m. on reports of the incident.
According to a BHPD news release, a man and a woman were waiting outside a boutique when they were approached by four suspects, one of whom pulled out a gun during a physical altercation between the victims and the suspects.
“During the altercation, the suspects forcibly took two designer handbags – one from each victim – containing cash and cellphones,” police said. “One cellphone was recovered nearby. The suspects also attempted to steal the male victim’s jewelry but were unsuccessful.”
In video of a portion of the incident obtained by KTLA, four suspects all wearing dark clothing and hooded sweatshirts can be seen running from the scene. At least one of the suspects has an item, possibly one of the handbags, in his hands.
The crew was last seen running up Rodeo Drive and ducking into an alleyway.
It is unclear if anyone was injured, but the male victim was seen on the ground as the victim and another person knelt over him, one of which was yelling for help.
Medical personnel with the Beverly Hills Fire Department responded to the incident, but authorities said the man and woman sought their own medical attention at a local hospital.
Their conditions were not immediately available.
An investigation into the robbery remains ongoing and anyone with information is urged to contact BHPD at 310-285-2125. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call the L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-222-8477 or leave tips online at www.lacrimestoppers.com.
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