New Mexico Tribe Bans Newspaper After Story of Killing

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.-- The leaders of a small tribal community nestled in northern New Mexico's mesas and red rocks hoped their tribe could heal from the horrific killing of one of their own.

Then the slaying was recounted on the front page of the Jemez Thunder: "Gruesome murder at Jemez Pueblo." In seven paragraphs, the story described how a tribal member stabbed, slashed and disemboweled another man.

In some places, the story might draw outrage for its details. In Jemez Pueblo, the newspaper was also banned.

The tribe was well within its rights as a sovereign government to prohibit, as the governor did, the distribution of the newspaper at the tribal visitors center and a convenience store.

"The pueblos enjoy sovereign immunity where free speech and the First Amendment are concerned," said Peter Simonson, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in New Mexico.

The tribe was in the news just a week ago, when it banned trick-or-treating on Halloween. The tribe said it was not part of its traditional culture and was a safety concern because of the small community's unlit roads.

The community of about 2,500 sits an hour's drive northwest of Albuquerque, New Mexico's largest city. The tribe deeply embraces its traditions, including preserving their Towa language.
Tribal lands are apart from the U.S. government. Tribes have their own separate governments, and their own laws. The federal government prosecutes violations of crimes such as murder.

The 1,000-circulation, English-language newspaper is based in the nearby non-tribal community of Jemez Springs, sells for 75 cents and usually runs between 24 to 32 pages, said Robert Borden, who owns it along with his wife, Kathleen Wiegner. The Bordens and a reporter make up the staff, although it also pays some columnists.

Borden said he's written positive stories about the pueblo in the past.

He wrote the story about the killing based on an FBI criminal complaint filed in federal court. He noted he also wrote that the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. It was published at the bottom of the front page of the paper's Oct. 15 edition, below stories about a horse-riding program and artists being sought for a bridge program.

Lucas Toledo, 22, faces a murder charge in the killing of Matthew Panana, 21, on Sept. 29.
Jemez Pueblo Gov. Joshua Madalena banned the sales, saying the story was sensationalized. Madalena said the paper's failure to exercise restraint shows it is "out of touch with the community's perspective."

Borden, who has published the newspaper since 1995, said he was disheartened rather than angry at the response.

He and Madalena were planning to meet Wednesday for what Borden said would be "a wide-ranging discussion."

Madalena said the discussion needs to be held "to make sure the newspaper is respectful toward the pueblo and the other communities" in the 30-mile Jemez Valley.

Madalena said Tuesday the close-knit community did not need to know the details of the killings. He said the story reopened wounds and was hurtful to the tribe.

The community "is hurt by the fact that this occurred at all," Borden responded. "I didn't hurt the community."

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Man Charged With Murder, Sexual Assault in Killing of Illinois College Student

DE KALB, Ill. -- An Illinois man has been charged with first-degree murder in the slaying of Northern Illinois University freshman Antinette "Toni" Keller, police said Friday night.

DeKalb Police Chief Bill Feithen said at a news conference that 34-year-old William Curl of DeKalb has also been charged with criminal sexual assault and arson. Feithen said Curl did not know Keller, and it appeared to have been a crime of opportunity.

Curl, who was arrested by U.S. Marshals at a motel in Covington, La., has been extradited to Illinois and is being held at the DeKalb County Jail on $5 million bond. He was scheduled for an initial hearing Saturday morning at the DeKalb County Courthouse in Sycamore.

Keller, of Plainfield, was last seen about noon Oct. 14 when friends said the art student was headed to a nearby park and nature preserve. Two days later, burned remains were found in the park, and a week later, forensic experts confirmed the remains were human.

Police in DeKalb, a city 65 miles west of Chicago where the 25,000-student campus is located, still haven't positively identified remains found in a park near the school as belonging to Keller, though they reclassified her case as a homicide investigation.

Keller's parents have little doubt they belong to their 18-year-old daughter, said the missing girl's cousin, Mary Tarling.

"There doesn't seem to be an alternative explanation," she said.

Among the indications the remains are Keller's is that her camera and sketch pad were found nearby, Tarling said, citing what police have told the family.

A talented watercolor painter and nature lover, Keller may have headed to the wooded park just south of the campus to take pictures or sketch drawings for an art project, Tarling said.

"She painted flowers and landscapes," Tarling said. "She loves camping and rock climbing."

Feithen said Curl was known to be among the people who frequented the 150-acre park and had been questioned, along with others, early in the investigation.

The chief said Curl became the prime suspect when he failed to show up for further questioning early this week. Feithen said a check of Curl's credit cards and cell phone records indicated that he had crossed the border into Mexico, and then proceeded through Texas to Louisiana.

After Keller's disappearance, security was increased at NIU's campus, and the school is making security escorts available 24 hours a day. NIU spokesman Brad Hoey said Friday that demand for late-night ride service has soared 30 percent since police revealed the discovery of the remains.

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Detroit-Area Father Charged With Killing His 2 Children

Published October 22, 2010

| Associated Press

ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- A suburban Detroit father who called 911 to report the drowning deaths of his two small children was charged with first-degree murder Friday, a prosecutor said.

Steven Nicholson has been in custody since Tuesday when police responding to the emergency call found the bodies at his apartment.

Nicholson, 27, was charged with first-degree murder, murder committed during another felony and child abuse, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said.

"The alleged facts in this case have affected even the most seasoned prosecutors in this office," Worthy said in a written statement. "We stand ready to bring this case to justice in a court of law."

The victims, 15-month-old Ella Stafford and 13-month old Jonathon Sanderlin, were scalded and had drowned, according to autopsies. They will be buried Saturday.

Nicholson was scheduled to be arraigned before noon EDT Friday. It was not immediately known if he had a lawyer.

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US soldier charged with killing troops in Iraq

BAGHDAD –  An American soldier was charged Wednesday with killing two fellow U.S. troops and wounding a third after an argument last month in a former Iraqi insurgent stronghold turned deadly.

Army Spc. Neftaly Platero was charged with two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder in a Sept. 23 shooting in Fallujah, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of Baghdad.

A statement issued late Wednesday by the U.S. military in Baghdad described the killings as premeditated but offered no other details.

Earlier, a U.S. military spokesman said Platero was accused of shooting the three soldiers after a verbal altercation. The spokesman, Col. Barry Johnson, did not know what the argument was about.

Pfc. Gebrah Noonan, 26, of Watertown, Connecticut, and Spc. John Carrillo Jr., 20, of Stockton, California, died the day after the shooting. The name of the wounded soldier has not been released, and the statement Wednesday said the criminal investigation of the incident is ongoing.

Platero, 32, from Houston, Texas, is being held in pretrial confinement in Kuwait. He will be tried by a military court.

He was assigned to Camp Ramadi, in western Iraq, with the Army's 3rd Infantry Division based out of Fort Stewart, Georgia.

Meanwhile, four gunmen stormed the home of a policeman in northern Iraq, killing him and four members of his family. An Iraqi police official said three women were among the dead.

The late Wednesday raid occurred in the northern city of Mosul, located about 225 miles (360 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad.

Mosul is no longer considered an al-Qaida stronghold as violence around Iraq has ebbed. But police and other security officials remain prime targets for insurgents.

An official at Mosul Medical Hospital confirmed the death toll in the raid. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not allowed to talk to the media.

Also, a local official in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk was killed, after being shot three times in the head as he was leaving his home on Wednesday night. City police Col. Ghazi Mohammed did not immediately know why Ahmed Faraj Samad, mayor of the city's al-Khadhra neighborhood, was targeted.

___

Associated Press Writer Lara Jakes in Baghdad contributed to this report.

(This version CORRECTS spelling of family name of 2nd killed soldier to Carrillo.)

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Marine Corps' Iraq killing appeal heard in Calif.

Published October 13, 2010

| Associated Press

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. –  The Marine Corps has asked an appeals court to reinstate the conviction of a Camp Pendleton Marine over the killing of an unarmed Iraqi.

Attorneys argued before the military's highest court, the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces in Washington, D.C.

Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins III of Plymouth, Mass., spent fours years in a military prison after being convicted of killing a retired Iraqi policeman in 2006. Authorities say the man was dragged from his home in Anbar province and shot by Marines who then framed him as an insurgent.

Hutchins' conviction was overturned this year on grounds that he didn't get a fair trial.

He's now stationed at Pendleton.

His attorney, Capt. Babu Kaza, says the case against his client is without merit.

Six other Marines and a Navy corpsman were convicted or pleaded guilty in the killing.

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