I received Michael Kozak’s autopsy from the state medical examiner today. The report I posted could be considered graphic, so be warned. Kozak autopsy The JPD did not release information about Kozak’s death for a day and a half. Police said they didn’t know what they had without word from the medical examiner. But after WITN’s Chelsea Donovan [...]

The Star News has another article Online about the Brunswick County School Board learning what the state knew all along – religion doesn’t belong in a science class. Read the Star News story here. Read the an earlier article about it here. And read my not-so-balanced opinion right here: Creationism, intelligent design and other nonsense does not belong [...]

Amanda Hickey has all the fun. The last weekend I worked, I had to cover a political rally and a political fundraiser. She works this weekend and gets to write about an air conditioner theft ring being busted and an attempted murder. The alleged A/C thieves. The attempted homicide. I don’t know anything about the stabbing and [...]

WITN is reporting that Alexander O’Neal Ellison, street named ”Pop Off,” turned himself in to police late Friday night. New Bern police identified Ellison as one of four suspects in the death of a Cherry Point Marine two weeks ago based on witness statements and forensic evidence.

I had a two hour interview with Louis Sewell yesterday. He had just been asked to resign by Gov. Mike Easley an hour before and Sewell was still defiant as to whether what he did was wrong. Read the article here. Sewell, a co-founder of Golden Corral, made headlines Sunday in Raleigh’s News & Observer for directing [...]

U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, added a requirement to the National Defense Authorization Act that civilian authorities be notified when a Military Protective Order is issued. The bill passed late Wednesday night. Turner has been a very loud proponent of change in the way the military handles sexual assaults since the bludgeoning death of Marine Lance Cpl. [...]

You know why I like it when JPD Capt. Tim Malfitano has media duty? Because it means machine guns! I like machine guns. My job can be so cool at times. This is the JPD Tactical Unit in the middle of training Wednesday. I wrote an article about it here. Malfitano (the one without a mask) [...]

Someone knows who shot Joe Ginyard. Sunday’s Cold Case Homicide series featured Ginyard’s unsolved 1980 homicide. There were plenty of folks around when he was shot in the gut, but no one saw who did it… Read the article here. By all accounts, Ginyard was a good guy, a family man, who was in the wrong [...]

The newspaper ran an article about a Jacksonville woman allegedly loading up on pills by forging scrips all over town. Read Molly DeWitt’s article here. As the story developed, WITN and WNCT both covered it. The Sheriff’s Department also sent out this press release Tuesday: “During Det. Dubois’ investigation, he discovered that Betty Pridgen had [...]

Who says criminals don’t learn a lesson from being arrested? Lloyd Best learned how important a serial number on a gun can be. Best, a Jacksonville man with a long list of serious convictions, was captured by the JPD Monday night after a pretty wild chase through the New River Drive area. He has been [...]

Three of the four teens charged with murder in the beating death of a Cherry Point Marine with remaining jail with no bond. Authorities are still hunting a forth suspect. Read the article here. A point of interest, perhaps: The owner of The Palms where the Marine was killed owned the club in Jones County [...]

There was an article in today’s Daily News about the Sheriff and the D.A. taking steps to prepare for Laurean’s return to Onslow County from Mexico. Read it here. I have it from a pretty good source that he may fight extradition. We will see. A previously unreleased tidbit I know: A military source close to [...]

New Bern police have made three arrests so far and expect more in last week’s homicide of a Cherry Point Marine, according to the Sun Journal. Read the article here. WITN also has information and some video.

I spoke with JPD Capt. Tim Malfitano today and he said Alexander turned himself in this morning. This is good news for everyone. Now Alexander can have his day in court and the state will have to prove its case. It also another example that the news media does have redeeming qualities. Sunlight is the [...]

Jennifer Hlad (Daily News Internet content editor / military reporter) has an article Online about a DoD sexual assault task force at Camp Lejeune this week. Read it here. Military officials say the mandate for this task force predates Maria Lauterbach’s death, but I bet Rep. Mike Turner raising hell helped it along.

Brad Cooper’s lawyers have released info the say counters the claims made by authorities about their client. Check out his attorney’s Web site. Kurtz & Blum are fighting back 21st Century-style. News 14 Carolina has a good article about it Online.

AnnDaniel and others have asked about this. Here is a link to a Freedom article about it.

HEY BLUELINE! UPDATE YOUR FREAKIN’ SITE ALREADY! What am I supposed to look at when I get home from work? Come on, guys. You’re slipping. Without your renegade Web site to guide my rebellious blog, I’m lost out here… So catch that guy cheating on his wife or whatever already and let’s get back up [...]

These chairs sat in front of retired JPD Chief Roger Halbert’s desk for 20 years. They now sit in JPD Deputy Chiefs David Shipp and Paul Spring’s offices. Halbert passed away Sunday and the cops had a lot of fond stories to tell about him Monday. The printable ones are here. Sitting in one of [...]

Read this press release from the U.S. Attorney General’s Office and then go vomit: RALEIGH – United States Attorney George E.B. Holding announced that in federal court here today United States District Judge James C. Dever, III, sentenced JOSEPH DALE RACKLEY, 53, of Raleigh, North Carolina, to 97 months’ imprisonment followed by a lifetime of [...]

I’m sure you’ve noticed the banner ad at the top of the page that has been running for a week now. Since Freedom made the switch a while back to running ads on the blogs, I figured the ads should at least be relevant to what the blog is about. To that end the ad [...]

An interactive map with unsolved homicides in the area is now Online. The site is still being developed, but we wanted to get what we had out to readers. You can read related articles, look at where the deceased were found and look at some previously unreleased photos. More cases will be added and once [...]

Sen. Elizabeth Dole stopped by The Daily News on Saturday to talk about stuff. I asked her about Sarah Palin and here is what she had to say - watch video here. I wrote about Dole’s visit to Jacksonville and her opponent Kay Hagan stopping by back in June. Pictures of both candidates in Jacksonville. Political insiders are [...]

There is an article Online now with a closer look at the final weeks of the Miller case. Here is Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown and NCIS Special Agent Wayne Mixon discussing the case with the news media last Wednesday: Next week I will be looking at the 1980 homicide of U.S. Army veteran Joe [...]

1st Appearance link here.  Been tied up, but there will be a story Online later about Babbitt’s first appearance in Onslow County court. The link will be here later is Online now. Also included in that article are some choice words by the D.A. for the Sheriff. You might want to check it out. The district attorney is [...]

Thursday was my day off (such as it was), so I am a behind on what I promised on the Miller case, but here it is now. First, Vickie Miller Hayden Cooper Babbitt is on her way back to Jacksonville. She will be booked into the Onslow County Jail at…how long is a flight from Oregon? [...]

UPDATE: It is 10:45 p.m. It took me all night, but I finally heard it from a special agent in the FBI – Laurean could be back here as soon as Wednesday. Of course, it could take longer. But lets just say the feds are talking arrival plans. —————————————————- Cesar Laurean is set to return to Onslow [...]

Here are a few photos Daily News photographer Don Bryan shot today: (Feel free to laugh at the size of my ever-more-balding head. And I just want to tell my drill sergeant dad that here is proof someone can get a decent job without shaving every morning). Click thumbs for bigger pictures: N.C. SBI Special [...]

- Vickie Miller Hayden Babbitt was also a U.S. Marine at the time of her husband’s homicide. – She was given full death benefits from the government and Miller also had an private insurance policy. – Federal investigators suspect the Marine Corps policy against adultry may have figured into the equation as to why Miller was killed.

It was nice to be in the news today for reasons other than the last time I was on TV. People have been telling me all day I did a good job, but there are people that did much, much more than I. – First, William Miller’s sister, Sharron Aguilar. Her sisters and Miller’s daughters [...]

I obtained a sketch drawn at the time of William Miller’s homicide by a Marine Corps investigator. Check it out. Read the latest here.  Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown said Vickie Babbitt – Miller’s wife at the time of his death – will be picked up today in Oregon by Sheriff’s Capt. Rick Sutherland and NCIS Special Agent Dan Calin [...]

The newspaper has an article today about the toxicology report of a woman struck and killed on U.S. 17 back in July. Read it here. Rhinehart. From her MySpace page. The legal driving limit for alcohol in North Carolina is 0.08 blood alcohol content. The amount of alcohol in the woman’s system was more than [...]

- A Hubert man was attacked by a pitbull early this morning right after the storm passed. The man shot the dog dead, according to Onslow County animal control. He was in the right, officials told me. Since he was packing heat, maybe the man read my article about animal behavior after storms. – An intoxicated Marine lance corporal [...]

You know how people always talk about how crazy it is that TV reporters stand in the rain to talk about conditions during hurricanes? I was watching a national news channel just now and a reporter was talking about the storm in Wilmington. I recognized the palm plant blowing in the wind behind him and remembered something I haven’t [...]

I should have done this earlier, but I have been slightly busy. The Daily News has a storm blog up with constantly updated information. For those of you on the Eastern seaboard, check it out. You can learn all sorts of stuff and see storm pictures. A wreck less than an hour ago on Western Boulevard in [...]

Look at this cool, but very quickly to be outdated Hanna map. I have been talking to emergency officials that say the real danger in Hanna is that the storm might lull residents into thinking hurricanes are not that big a deal. And then here comes Ike to slap us around like we are Tina [...]

Mike McHugh is a hell of a guy. He loves a good story and he cares more about the newspaper business than any 10 suits combined. But his politics are killing me. He has another right-wing rant in the newspaper today. I enjoy heading out of the newsroom with Mike looking to see what we [...]

Carl Sewell – convicted of killing his girlfriend in 1994 and sentenced to 40 years in prison – will be free Friday morning and on his way to Kentucky with his fiancee. Read the article here. Sewell’s new girlfriend is convinced he will not kill her. I asked them both about it and they had [...]

Seems like soon-to-be Hurricane Hanna is making plans to crash my weekend barbecue. The storm was supposed to hit Myrtle Beach and wear itself out before getting to Onslow County. I spent most of the afternoon Wednesday talking to people who said it was no big deal and everything was cool. Then my boss calls [...]

I have been waiting forever for some sort of legal connection to comics so I could blog about my favorite pastime. And it has finally presented itself. The movie adaptation of one of the best graphic novels of all time is tied up in court and it looks like although $100 million has been spent [...]

Developements have come to light with the unsealing of search warrants in the Nancy Cooper case. The Associated Press is reporting that Brad Cooper was questioned about scratches and red marks on his neck the day his wife vanished. The N&O is reporting that Cooper cleaned the house the same day. Read affidavit here.

I wrote a cold case article this past Sunday that made reference to a victim being “homosexual” and his “lifestyle.” Read it here, if you have not. Yana Walton, the southern media strategist for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, e-mailed me to say: “I certainly appreciate your willingness to cover this story and the sensitivity [...]

The second chapter in Carl Sewell’s parole trilogy is Online now. Read it. The first article is here. After I learn what decision was reached by the parole board tomorrow, I will wrap this up. Sewell is scheduled to get out of prison Feb. 16, 2009. As long as he doesn’t get into any major trouble [...]

WNCT’s Fugitive Files, which airs Thursdays, has helped law enforcement capture another absconder from justice. A Richlands man – on the run for more than a year – was nabbed Sunday on several cocaine charges. William McDowell Butler Jr., 44, dropped out of sight in March 2007 when he apparently realized he had sold coke [...]

A few photos from Kayla Allen’s reinterment up in Michigan. She was laid to rest under a new headstone with her legal name. Click the pictures for larger versions. The last photo is of Kayla’s aunt, Heather Baker,  and mother, Nicole Allen. Hope4KidZ has set up this Web page to honor Kayla. They sent me [...]