A man charged with murdering Kansas abortion provider Dr. George Tiller has been advocating through mailings from his jail cell that such killings are justifiable. ...more

July 3, 2009

A sandy shoreline runs outside Patrick Wiese's front door. A white crane toes through gentle blue-green waters as the sun beams overhead. The view of downtown is spectacular, the fishing good and the rent free. ...more

March 27, 2009

A Pinellas County cleaner was sentenced to 27 years in prison after pleading guilty today to killing his boss and setting him and his vehicle on fire. ...more

March 20, 2009

Country singer and writer Willie Nelson pens his first novel, an exciting western called '"A Tale Out of Luck." A young orphan boy nicknamed Skeeter is taken in by rancher Hank Tomlinson who raises him with his son Jay Blue. Skeeter, who is half-Mexican, has always longed to know more about his family, what their names were and who was his birth father. He and Jay have always been close, but sometimes Jay taunts Skeeter about not having a real Dad. They work on Jay's father's ranch and sometimes get to go into the little town of Luck for a drink and some flirting. A small band of Indians are camping near the ranch to hunt for food. A series of misunderstandings fueled by some vindictive whites almost wipes out the peaceful Indians. The survivors decide to lavish a full scale attack with their tribe to wipe out the two closest ranches. Hank's past has come to haunt him, but in spite of the turmoil, his story is finally verified and enemies unite to face this new threat to their homes and lives. ...more

March 18, 2009

After months of legal troubles, Earl and Clarissa Johnson were about to regain custody of their children. ...more

March 16, 2009

After months of legal troubles, Earl and Clarissa Johnson were about to regain custody of their children. On Thursday, though, a month before they were to be reunited, Lakeland police say their youngest son, 17-month-old Zachary, was brutally beaten and killed by his uncle, Matthew Wyrosdick. ...more

March 15, 2009

"Compulsion" by Jonathan Kellerman begins with a description of a grisly murder. Somehow, detective Milo Sturgis and psychologist Alex Delaware find a minor connection between murders whose only link is that the killer uses luxury vehicles to travel in. There seems to be no motive in the murders but Milo and Alex feel they were committed by the same person, even though it seems hard to believe that the brutal murderer is somehow connected with both the wealthy center of Los Angeles and New York City. The known murders cover a period of at least 10 years and Alex is sure that the same person is responsible. In the absence of any connecting motives, Alex concludes that the perpetrator is obviously a very clever madman who is killing because he can. When Alex and Milo track down the devious character, they also provide some closure for the grieving parents who had been wondering what happened to their teenage son, missing for the past 10 years. The answer is an unhappy one but knowing what happened makes the couple grateful that they will be able to find their son's body and have a memorial service. And Milo is happy to be able to take at least one "cold case" from his files. ...more

February 18, 2009

A 25-year-old Poinciana man investigators say is connected to a slaying in May was indicted today by a Polk County grand jury. ...more

January 22, 2009

"The Private Patient," by P.D. James (Knopf, $26) ...more

December 21, 2008

As family members mourned the loss of Belleair resident Deana Cataneo, investigators are continuing to search for the man accused of slaying her. ...more

December 4, 2008