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Jeff from TX United States of America
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Re: National, Regional and Local News

#766

Post by Jeff from TX »

Actually, Trump made an unannounced visit to a fire station and police station (as I am sure that y'all have heard) in NYC on 9/11. He did need something to make sure that he had the spotlight to himself - sharing isn't in his vocabulary.
It seems like time is going backwards towards 1984 . . . :freaking:
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Re: National, Regional and Local News

#767

Post by dryrunguy »

Jeff from TX wrote: Mon Sep 13, 2021 12:05 am Actually, Trump made an unannounced visit to a fire station and police station (as I am sure that y'all have heard) in NYC on 9/11. He did need something to make sure that he had the spotlight to himself - sharing isn't in his vocabulary.
And, based on what I've read so far, he basically gave a campaign speech. You know, just because that would be the most disrespectful thing to do under the circumstances.
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Re: National, Regional and Local News

#768

Post by ti-amie »

“Do not grow old, no matter how long you live. Never cease to stand like curious children before the Great Mystery into which we were born.” Albert Einstein
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Re: National, Regional and Local News

#769

Post by ti-amie »

Imagine someone submitting this as a script for a movie or TV show before all of this became public. Now I bet they're falling over themselves to start production on the movie or limited series show on pay cable. The only character missing is the chippy.

Alex Murdaugh surrenders in alleged suicide-for-hire plot as police launch new probe into housekeeper’s death
Image
Alex Murdaugh, right, is accused of hiring a hit man to shoot him dead so his son could collect a life insurance payout, investigators say. (WCSC)

By
Katie Shepherd and Jessica Lipscomb

Today at 7:36 a.m. EDT

The patriarch of a South Carolina legal dynasty at the center of multiple police investigations turned himself in Thursday to face charges related to insurance fraud.

Richard Alexander “Alex” Murdaugh, a prominent attorney in the Lowcountry region, is accused of hiring a hit man to shoot him dead so his son could collect a $10 million life insurance payout, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. The agency also announced on Wednesday that it has opened a separate investigation into the 2018 death of a housekeeper at Murdaugh’s home.

The same agency is investigating the killings of Murdaugh’s wife and son, who were shot to death outside the family’s Islandton, S.C., home in June.

Murdaugh pulled up to the Hampton County Law Enforcement Center on Thursday morning. He is expected to have a court hearing in Hampton County, S.C., on Thursday.



Police said Murdaugh confessed on Monday to “the scheme of having [a hit man] murder him for the purpose of his son collecting a life insurance policy.” Murdaugh had hoped that his surviving son, 25-year-old Buster Murdaugh, would receive $10 million after his death, according to an affidavit.

But the plan went awry, and Murdaugh survived. He called 911 after a bullet grazed his head on Sept. 4, telling police he had been changing a tire on the side of the road when an unknown gunman fired at him from a truck.

SLED arrested 61-year-old Curtis Edward Smith of Walterboro, S.C., on Tuesday and charged him with assisted suicide, assault and battery of a high aggravated nature, pointing and presenting a firearm, insurance fraud, and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud. Smith was jailed at the Colleton County Detention Center, police said.

“Mr. Smith admitted to being present during the shooting of Mr. Murdaugh and to disposing of the firearm afterwards,” police said in an affidavit.

According to court records, Murdaugh had represented Smith in a 2013 speeding case, the Associated Press reported. Police said Murdaugh provided the gun that Smith used in the Sept. 4 shooting.

Court records do not list an attorney for Smith.

An attorney for Murdaugh said the 53-year-old had struggled with opioid addiction for 20 years, during which time some people “took advantage of his addiction and his ability to pay substantial funds for illegal drugs,” according to a statement shared with The Washington Post on Wednesday.

“One of those individuals took advantage of his mental illness and agreed to take Alex’s life, by shooting him in the head,” Murdaugh’s attorneys said in the statement. “Fortunately, Alex was not killed by the gunshot wound.”


The lawyers added that Murdaugh is cooperating with state investigators.

A series of tragic events involving the Murdaugh family began in 2018, when their longtime housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, died at the home in an apparent slip-and-fall accident. But Satterfield’s death certificate indicated she died of natural causes, and the death was not reported to the local coroner’s office, according to SLED, which added that no autopsy was performed. Her estate later filed a wrongful death claim against Alex Murdaugh and settled for about $500,000, CNN reported.

Then, on Feb. 24, 2019, Murdaugh’s teen son Paul Murdaugh allegedly slammed a boat carrying five friends into a piling near a bridge over Archers Creek. One of the passengers, 19-year-old Mallory Beach, disappeared below the water in the chaos of the crash and was found dead a week later.

Paul Murdaugh faced three felony charges, including boating under the influence causing death, but a trial was never scheduled.

Three generations of Murdaugh men had served as elected prosecutors in South Carolina’s Lowcountry region for 87 consecutive years. The family’s ties to the law enforcement community spurred concerns that the case against Paul Murdaugh had been mishandled. His family said Paul Murdaugh received online death threats after the wreck.

The boating incident also revived questions about the 2015 hit-and-run death of 19-year-old Stephen Smith, who was found dead on a rural road about 10 miles from the Murdaugh family’s home.

According to the Augusta Chronicle, rumors circulated that there was a coverup in the case and that the Murdaughs were allegedly involved. The family denied those accusations, calling them “unfortunate fabrications and unfounded comments,” the newspaper reported.

The most recent string of investigations began June 7, when Alex Murdaugh said he found his wife, 52-year-old Maggie Murdaugh, and Paul Murdaugh shot dead outside their home in Islandton. Police have not yet made any arrests or named any suspects in connection with the deaths.

SLED opened in late June an investigation into Stephen Smith’s death “based upon information gathered during the course of the double murder investigation of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh,” a spokesperson told the Augusta Chronicle.

In the aftermath of the death of his wife and son, Alex Murdaugh stepped down from the law firm where he was a partner amid allegations that money had gone missing. A day later, Curtis Edward Smith allegedly shot Murdaugh.

As Murdaugh drove along Old Salkehatchie Road near Varnville, S.C., on Sept. 4, the hired gunman followed close on his trail, according to investigators.

Eventually, police said Murdaugh pulled over, and Smith fired a shot that grazed the attorney’s head, leaving him with a nonfatal wound. Smith drove away from the scene of the shooting and disposed of the gun, police said.

Murdaugh then called 911 and received medical treatment at a nearby hospital before checking into rehab for an unspecified “dependency” issue last week.

“On September 4, it became clear Alex believed that ending his life was his only option,” Murdaugh’s attorneys said. “Today, he knows that’s not true.”


SLED announced on Monday that the agency had opened an investigation into the “misappropriated funds” that Murdaugh allegedly took from the law firm Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth & Detrick, where he was a partner. By Tuesday, police had arrested Smith and allegedly obtained a confession from Murdaugh admitting to the insurance fraud plot.

“Alex is not without fault but he is just one of many whose life has been devastated by opioid addiction,” his attorneys said in a statement.

The most recent development came Wednesday, when SLED announced it was also investigating the death of Satterfield, the Murdaugh family’s housekeeper. The Hampton County coroner requested that the law enforcement agency look into her death amid the other investigations.

“On the death certificate the manner of death was ruled ‘Natural,’ which is inconsistent with injuries sustained in a trip and fall accident,” the coroner’s request said.

WCSC reported that Satterfield’s sons filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Murdaugh and other defendants involved in the settlement, saying the family had yet to receive the money.

Officials expect to make additional charges in the multiple investigations involving the Murdaugh family.

“I continue to urge the public to be patient and let this investigation take its course,” SLED Chief Mark Keel said in a statement Monday. “Investigative decisions we make throughout this case and any potentially related case must ultimately withstand the scrutiny of the criminal justice process.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2 ... -shooting/
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Re: National, Regional and Local News

#770

Post by ti-amie »

More. We deserve a distraction.

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Re: National, Regional and Local News

#771

Post by JazzNU »

Some of this was hinted at last week, the girl's murder, the son's involvement, something suspicious with the dad, but not this soap opera worthy tawdry tale. Clearly they've been working overtime to nail down all those details.

I feel like Y&R or All My would find that a touch too far for their audience. Like guys, we want dramatic and over the top, but this is too much, too far. Like that's some Passions stuff right there.
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Re: National, Regional and Local News

#772

Post by ti-amie »

JazzNU wrote: Fri Sep 17, 2021 2:36 am Some of this was hinted at last week, the girl's murder, the son's involvement, something suspicious with the dad, but not this soap opera worthy tawdry tale. Clearly they've been working overtime to nail down all those details.

I feel like Y&R or All My would find that a touch too far for their audience. Like guys, we want dramatic and over the top, but this is too much, too far. Like that's some Passions stuff right there.
You don't think they'd do a night time soap on this mess? There was mention that the man who assisted him is one of his dealers.
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Re: National, Regional and Local News

#773

Post by ti-amie »



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, September 17, 2021
National healthcare fraud enforcement action results in charges involving more than $1.4 billion in alleged losses
Six defendants, more than $50 million in Southern District of Georgia
WASHINGTON: A strategically coordinated, six-week nationwide federal law enforcement action has resulted in criminal charges against 138 defendants, including 42 doctors, nurses, and other licensed medical professionals, in 31 federal districts across the United States for their alleged participation in various healthcare fraud schemes for more than $1.4 billion in alleged losses.

The enforcement action includes criminal charges against six defendants here in the Southern District of Georgia. The charges announced involve some defendants accused of committing a kickback conspiracy involving cancer genomic testing claims, and other defendants accused of illegal distribution of opioids. The Southern District of Georgia’s announced charges account for more than $50 million in collective billings to federal health benefit programs.

Nationwide, the charges target approximately $1.1 billion in fraud committed using telemedicine, more than $29 million in COVID-19 health care fraud, more than $133 million connected to substance abuse treatment facilities, or “sober homes,” and more than $160 million connected to other health care fraud and illegal opioid distribution schemes across the country.

“The vigilance of our law enforcement partners plays a vital role in identifying illegal healthcare activities throughout the nation and the Southern District of Georgia,” said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. “We will continue to hold accountable those who would seek to gain illicit profit by criminally exploiting our nation’s healthcare safety net.”

“This nationwide enforcement action demonstrates that the Criminal Division is at the forefront of the fight against health care fraud and opioid abuse by prosecuting those who have exploited health care benefit programs and their patients for personal gain,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The charges announced today send a clear deterrent message and should leave no doubt about the department’s ongoing commitment to ensuring the safety of patients and the integrity of health care benefit programs, even amid a continued pandemic.”

Today’s enforcement actions were led and coordinated by the Health Care Fraud Unit of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, in conjunction with its Health Care Fraud and Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid (ARPO) Strike Force program, and its core partners, the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), FBI, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), as part of the department’s ongoing efforts to combat the devastating effects of health care fraud and the opioid epidemic. The Southern District of Georgia worked with the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and agents from HHS-OIG, FBI, and DEA in the investigation and prosecution of these cases.

Telemedicine Fraud Cases

The largest amount of alleged fraud loss charged in connection with the cases announced today – more than $1.1 billion in allegedly false and fraudulent claims submitted by 43 criminal defendants in 11 judicial districts nationwide – relates to schemes involving telemedicine: the use of telecommunications technology to provide health care services remotely. In the Southern District of Georgia, two marketers were charged by way of Information relating to their role in a conspiracy that bought and sold cancer genomic (“CGx”) testing for Medicare beneficiaries. Court documents allege that the CGx tests bought in that conspiracy were ultimately billed to Medicare by a series of laboratories for more than $45 million.

The continued focus on prosecuting health care fraud schemes involving telemedicine reflects the success of the nationwide coordinating role of the Fraud Section’s National Rapid Response Strike Force.

“Healthcare crimes hurt every taxpayer and put profits over the care of our nation’s most vulnerable citizens,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “It puts a tremendous strain on our federally-subsidized health care programs. The FBI and our federal partners will hold accountable anyone who usurps healthcare assistance for their personal greed.”

The focus on telemedicine fraud also builds on the telemedicine component of last year’s national takedown and the impact of the 2019 “Operation Brace Yourself” Telemedicine and Durable Medical Equipment Takedown, which resulted in an estimated cost avoidance of more than $1.9 billion in the amount paid by Medicare for orthotic braces in the 20 months following that takedown. The Southern District of Georgia has played a major role in these nationwide schemes, having charged more than 30 defendants responsible for a collective $1.6 billion in billings across Operation Brace Yourself, Operation Double Helix, and Operation Rubber Stamp. The Southern District of Georgia kickback charges announced today are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan A. Porter.

Cases Involving the Illegal Prescription and/or Distribution of Opioids and Cases Involving Traditional Health Care Fraud Schemes

The cases announced today involving the illegal prescription and/or distribution of opioids include 19 defendants, including several charges against medical professionals and others who prescribed more than 12 million doses of opioids and other prescription narcotics while submitting more than $14 million in false billings. The cases that fall into more traditional categories of healthcare fraud include charges against more than 60 defendants who allegedly participated in schemes to submit more than $145 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, and private insurance companies for treatments that were medically unnecessary and often never provided.

In the Southern District of Georgia, three South Georgia medical professionals were indicted for illegal distribution of opioids and conspiracy to commit health care fraud. The indictment alleges that the charged physician, nurse practitioner, and physician assistant operated a nominal pain clinic that distributed opioids with no legitimate medical purpose. These charges are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew A. Josephson and Bradford C. Patrick.

“The public relies on medical professionals to be part of the solution to our nation’s prescription drug abuse epidemic – not to worsen the problem by distributing controlled substances without a legitimate medical purpose," said Special Agent in Charge Derrick L. Jackson of HHS-OIG. “Working closely with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to investigate unscrupulous providers who prey on vulnerable members of the public.”

“Medical practitioners who unlawfully dispense dangerous, addictive and potentially deadly substances do so under the guise of a stethoscope and white coat to hide behind a veil of legitimacy. They commit fraudulent acts and prey on patients who are addicted to prescription opioids and are unfit to administer care to anyone,” said Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division. “DEA and its law enforcement partners stand united and are committed to bringing those to justice who engage in these unlawful acts.”

Prior to the charges announced as part of today’s nationwide enforcement action and since its inception in March 2007, the Health Care Fraud Strike Force, which maintains 15 strike forces operating in 24 districts, has charged more than 4,600 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for approximately $23 billion. In addition to the criminal actions announced today, CMS, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, announced 28 administrative actions to decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

The National Rapid Response Strike Force also announced prosecutions across the country today regarding $128 million in COVID-19 fraud, cases and nearly $1 billion in fraud cases involving sober homes.

A complaint, information or indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

To view Assistant Attorney General Polite’s remarks, go to: https://www.justice.gov/opa/video/assis ... nforcement.
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Re: National, Regional and Local News

#774

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Carmines is one of my favorite places too...
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Re: National, Regional and Local News

#775

Post by ponchi101 »

Allegedly? What part of that photograph can be seen as allegedly?
6 month, no bail. Otherwise events like this will escalate.
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Re: National, Regional and Local News

#776

Post by ti-amie »

ponchi101 wrote: Fri Sep 17, 2021 7:12 pm Allegedly? What part of that photograph can be seen as allegedly?
6 month, no bail. Otherwise events like this will escalate.
I understand from a recent report that the amenities offered at Rikers Island are quite nice. They should've been held overnight at the very least.
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Re: National, Regional and Local News

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Police resume search for Brian Laundrie, boyfriend of missing 22-year-old Gabby Petito
TikTok poster said she and her boyfriend gave Laundrie a ride on Aug. 29.

ByMark Osborne,Meredith Deliso, andBill Hutchinson
19 September 2021, 18:44

A search for Brian Laundrie, the boyfriend of 22-year-old Gabby Petito, resumed on Sunday in a 24,565-acre preserve in Florida as authorities more than 2,300 miles away combed Grand Teton National Park for clues on the whereabouts of the woman who went missing during the couple's cross-country road trip.

North Port, Florida, police said a team of officers picked up the search for Laundrie in the Carlton Reserve north of Laundrie's home in North Port. The search began on Saturday but was suspended overnight due to darkness.

"A team of more than 50 looking for anything of note after his (Laundrie's) parents say this is where he went," North Port police said in a post on Twitter Sunday morning.

Laundrie has been named by police as a "person of interest" in Petito's disappearance. The 23-year-old Laundrie, who returned home more than two weeks ago without Petito and has refused to speak to the police, has not been seen since Tuesday, according to law enforcement officials.


"Be advised that the whereabouts of Brian Laundrie are currently unknown," an attorney for the Laundrie family said Friday. "The FBI is currently at the Laundrie residence removing property to assist in locating Brian. As of now, the FBI is now looking for both Gabby and Brian."

North Port police officers accompanied by FBI agents, drones, K-9 and bloodhounds are involved in the search for Laundrie, police said during a briefing Saturday afternoon. Authorities took clothing from the family home Friday to help canine units, North Port Police spokesperson Josh Taylor said.

Laundrie's family told police on Friday that they last saw him on Tuesday with a backpack and he told them he was going to the massive preserve, which he would frequent for hikes, according to Taylor.

"Our goal is to get answers. We love to be able to find Gabby. And right now we need to find Brian, too. Not only is he missing, but he potentially holds some key information in helping us find Gabby," Taylor told ABC News on Saturday night. "We have to locate him. We're hopeful to bring him in because I think he does have some information that will really lead us to Gabby. And that is the primary objective, to find this little girl."

In response to the news that Laundrie's whereabouts were unknown, a lawyer for the Petito family said in a statement: "All of Gabby's family want the world to know that Brian is not missing, he is hiding. Gabby is missing."

The search for Laundrie is the latest twist in the case that has grabbed national attention as the couple had been traveling across the country since June in Petito's 2012 Ford Transit and documenting the trip on social media. Laundrie returned home in Petito's van to North Port, on Sept. 1 without his girlfriend, according to police.

Petito's parents reported her missing on Sept. 11 after not speaking with her for two weeks.

As the search for Petito continues, FBI Denver said in an update Saturday evening that authorities are "conducting ground surveys" at the Spread Creek Dispersed Camping Area in Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park. The FBI asked for anyone who saw the couple's white van, with Florida license plate QFTG03, to contact the FBI.

Taylor confirmed that investigators have spoken to Miranda Baker, a college student who posted a TikTok video over the weekend claiming she and her boyfriend picked up Laundrie around 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 29 as he was hitchhiking alone in the Colter Bay Village area of the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. In the video, Baker said Laundrie offered her and her boyfriend $200 to drive him to Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

"He told us he's been camping for multiple days without his fiancee. He did say he had a fiancee and that she was working on their social media page back at their van," Baker said in the video.

She said that during the ride, Laundrie "freaked out" and demanded to be let out of the vehicle.

"He's like, 'Nope, I need to get out right now. You have to pull over,'" Baker said in the video and later in an interview with ABC's "Good Morning America."

Baker said she and her boyfriend let Laundrie out near the Jackson Lake Dam a little after 6 p.m. She said Laundrie had a backpack and was dressed in a long-sleeve shirt, pants, hiking boots and had a scruffy beard.

"For someone who was camping for multiple days, he didn't look dirty. He didn't smell dirty," Baker said.

Asked about Baker's purported encounter with Laundrie, Taylor told ABC News on Sunday, "We have spoken to her. Her timeline is plausible."

The FBI specifically said it would like to talk to anyone who was at the Spread Creek Dispersed Camping Area from Aug. 27 to 30 and may have seen the couple or their van. The agency said it would not comment on the specifics of the information in its investigation.

North Port police were also forced to clear up a rumor about finding a body in the Carlton Reserve that spread on social media Saturday, saying it was "completely fake."

MORE: Utah police release body camera image of Gabby Petito after apparent fight with boyfriend

Petito was last seen on Aug. 24 leaving a hotel room in Utah. The next day, she spoke to her mother, Nichole Schmidt, telling her that their next stops would be at Grand Teton and Yellowstone, Schmidt told ABC News.

Schmidt received two text messages from her daughter's phone in the days after speaking to her, but it was unclear whether they were actually sent by Petito.

"Many people are wondering why Mr. Laundrie would not make a statement or speak with law enforcement in the face of Ms. Petito's absence," the attorney representing the Laundrie family, Steven P. Bertolino, said in a statement last week. "In my experience, intimate partners are often the first person law enforcement focuses their attention on in cases like this, and the warning that 'any statement will be used against you' is true, regardless of whether my client had anything to do with Ms. Petito's disappearance. As such, on the advice of counsel, Mr. Laundrie is not speaking on this matter."

The North Port Police Department said Friday afternoon it had entered the family's home, where Brian was believed to be staying, to speak with the family "at their request."

The police later tweeted Friday, "The conversation at the Laundrie home is complete. Once we have the details, a statement will be made. We ask for calm! Please let us work through this and information will be forthcoming."

It was after that tweet that the family lawyer released the statement saying the location of Brian Laundrie was unknown.

"We've been trying to reach the family all week. This is the first time we've had communication with them, and now they're telling us that he's been gone for essentially the last four days," Taylor said in an interview with "Good Morning America" Saturday.

Laundrie's family told police about where he went after becoming "concerned about his whereabouts" and wanted to file a missing person's report, Taylor told reporters Saturday.

Laundrie's car was at the Carlton Reserve but then found again at the family's home, police said. When pressed by reporters as to how the car would have gotten back without a sign of Laundrie, Taylor said, "We are going by [the family's] word."

Bertolino, the Laundrie family attorney, told ABC News the family picked up the car after going out to look for their son.

Bertolino said the family went to the reserve Wednesday to look for him and spotted a note from the North Port Police Department on the car saying it needed to be removed. The family left the car overnight "so he could drive back," the attorney said. When Laundrie didn't come home Thursday morning, the family went back to retrieve the car, according to Bertolino.


People had gathered outside the Laundrie home throughout the day Friday, some with bullhorns, chanting "Where is Gabby?" and calling on Brian Laundrie or the family to talk to authorities. Those people were moved from the lawn to the sidewalk as they chanted toward the house.

Brian's sister, Cassandra Laundrie, spoke to ABC News on Thursday night, saying she had spoken to police about Petito's disappearance but was mostly learning details from the news.

"Obviously, me and my family want Gabby to be found safe," she said. "She is like a sister and my children love her, and all I want is for her to come home safe and sound and this be just a big misunderstanding."

The Grand County Sheriff's Office in Moab, Utah, said last week that Petito and Laundrie did not appear to be connected to the murders of two women at a campground in mid-August. The sheriff's office said on Thursday it had been in contact with Florida authorities about investigating a possible connection to the double murder.

The two women were last seen leaving a bar on Aug. 13, one day after authorities were called about a disagreement between Petito and Laundrie while they were traveling in Moab.

The couple's white van had been pulled over after a witness called police about an altercation between the two at the Arches National Park. Moab police released body camera footage of the couple admitting they had been arguing and that Petito had slapped Laundrie, according to a police report. The couple told police that Laundrie had not hit Petito.

There was "insufficient evidence existed to justify criminal charges," Moab Police Department Chief Bret Edge said in a statement Tuesday.

ABC News' Alondra Valle, Julia Jacobo, Joshua Hoyos and Matt Foster contributed to this report.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/location-bria ... d=80090573
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Re: National, Regional and Local News

#778

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“Do not grow old, no matter how long you live. Never cease to stand like curious children before the Great Mystery into which we were born.” Albert Einstein
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Re: National, Regional and Local News

#779

Post by ti-amie »

When you read about this case and the Murdaugh's in South Carolina how can you say there aren't two criminal justice systems? And then there are small towns.
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Re: National, Regional and Local News

#780

Post by Deuce »

R.I.P. Amal...

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