Wednesday, April 16, 2014


News Clips For The Day


Snapshot: Hate Crime in America, by the Numbers – NBC
By Mike Brunker
First published April 16 2014


Hate crime and the toxic ideology spread by groups that traffic in the language of racial, sexual or religious superiority are again drawing attention in the wake of Sunday’s deadly attack outside two Jewish centers in Kansas.

But who are these groups and what are they trying to achieve? Are they carrying out violence or simply trying to instigate it? And who is most at risk of being victimized?

Here, by the numbers, is a snapshot of hate crime in America in 2014:
How many ‘hate groups’ are there?

There are 939 active hate groups in the United States – a 56 percent increase since 2000, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. The number of such groups surged in response to President Barack Obama’s election and the economic downturn – growing from 888 in 2008 to 1,007 in 2012 – before falling back slightly last year, according to Mark Potok, who tracks extremist groups for the SPLC. Members of these groups and others were involved in 5,796 “incidents” in 2012, the most recent year for which the FBI has compiled data. While that number declined from the 6,222 incidents reported in the prior year, 7,164 people were victimized.

What is a hate crime?
As defined by the Hate Crime Statistics Act of 1990, hate crimes are “crimes that manifest evidence of prejudice based on race, gender or gender identity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.”

For reporting purposes, it does not matter whether or not the perpetrators of the crime were ever charged with a hate crime.

How often do hate crimes occur?
The FBI is charged under the Hate Crime Statistics Act with compiling statistics on hate crimes. In its most recent report, for 2012, it counted 5,796 incidents resulting in 7,164 victims. That was a decline from the previous year, in which the FBI tallied 6,222 incidents.

Separately, the Bureau of Justice Statistics has been collecting data on crimes motivated by hate since 2003 for its National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). That survey, which includes data on crimes believed by the victims to have been motivated by hate but not reported to police, showed a spike in hate crimes from 2011 to 2012.
What trends do the data show?

According to the FBI’s data for 2012, most hate crime is motivated by race, accounting for 48 percent of all such reports.

Here are some other trends from the data since 1995:

Overall incidence of hate crimes
The number of hate crimes has fallen by about one-fourth over the years from 1995 through 2012, the latest year for which numbers are available. In 1995, the FBI counted 7,947 incidents. The count remained generally steady, with ups and downs, until the late 2000s, when it dipped into the 6,000s before hitting 5,796 in 2012. These changes could be attributable, in part, to variations in the agencies reporting to the FBI from year to year.

Average incidents per year
Over the entire period, the average number of incidents reported per year was 7,573, with an average of 9,455 victims per year. For the latest year, 2012, the numbers are 5,796 incidents with 7,164 victims.

Types of incidents
Race has generally fallen as a percentage of hate crimes (from about 60 percent to the high 40s), while sexual orientation has generally risen in share (from the low teens to about 20 percent).

Over the entire period, these were the average number of incidents reported per year, by type: race, 3,979; religion, 1,382; sexual orientation, 1,210; ethnicity/national origin, 951; disability, 52; multiple-bias, 5.
Race and ethnicity

The number of racial/ethnic incidents reported has fallen steadily, from about 6,000/year to about 3,500.

Hate crimes against blacks remain far more numerous than hate crimes against the far larger population of whites.

Looking at racial and ethnic categories (and counting Hispanic and other national origins as separate categories, as the FBI does):
The racial categories have remained quite constant in share of incidents, aside from a sharp drop in anti-Asian incidents. For the latest year, the share of racial/ethnic incidents is: anti-black, 52 percent; anti-white, 19 percent; anti-Hispanic, 11 percent; anti-other ethnicity, 8 percent; anti-multile races, 3 percent; anti-Asian, 3 percent; anti-American Indian, 3 percent.

Religion
Unlike the decline in racial hate crimes, religious hate crimes have remained steady, falling only slightly.

Hate crimes against Jews remain far more numerous that hate crimes against the larger population of Christians. But the raw number of hate crimes against Jews has fallen, with part of that burden falling on Muslims.

What are hate groups?
The SPLC maintains a list of hate groups that “have beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people, typically for their immutable characteristics.”
The organization compiles its list using hate group publications and websites, citizen and law enforcement reports, field sources and news reports.

The SPLC also compiles a second list of “Patriot” groups that “define themselves as opposed to the ‘New World Order,’ engage in groundless conspiracy theorizing, or advocate or adhere to extreme anti-government doctrines.” But some experts say it isn’t always possible to draw a clear line between the two movements.

Do hate groups commit violence or simply try to instigate it?
There are no data on hate crimes committed by members of active hate groups, but many experts say that “lone wolf” sympathizers influenced by the group’s messages pose a bigger threat.

Which states have the most hate groups?
The SPLC lists these states as having the highest number of active hate groups:

California (77)
Florida (58)
Texas (57)
Georgia (50)
New Jersey (44)
New York (42)
Pennsylvania (41)

By comparison, Kansas had five active hate groups on the list: Crew 38 (racist skinhead, Wichita), Loyal White Knights of the KKK, Midland Hammerskins (racist skinhead, Wichita), National Socialist Movement (Neo-Nazi, Lansing), Westboro Baptist Church (anti-LGBT, Topeka).

The SPLC has a map listing the groups active in each state.
What hate ideologies attract the most followers?

The SPLC lists these ideologies as spawning the highest number of active hate groups:

KKK (163)
Neo-Nazi (143)
White Nationalist (128)
Racist Skinhead (126)
Christian Identity (37)
Neo-Confederate (36)
Black Separatist (115)
General Hate (191)

What are some of the most notorious hate crimes in recent years?
Matthew Shepard, a gay student at the University of the Wyoming, was beaten, tortured and left to die in October 1998 by two men who tied him to a fence, where he wasn’t found until the next day. Shepard died five days later from severe head injuries. His assailants received life in prison without parole.

Naveed Afzal Haq shot six women at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle in July 2006, killing one of them. He was sentenced to life without parole in 2009, plus 120 years.

Members of a gang known as the “Latin King Goonies” beat and robbed three gay men in the Bronx in New York in October of 2010. The group’s alleged leader pleaded guilty to gang assault and is serving 14 years in prison.

Wade Michael Page, who had ties to white supremacist organizations, shot and killed six people at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wis., and wounded four others in August 2012. He then committed suicide. Attorney General Eric Holder called it “an act of terrorism, an act of hatred, a hate crime.”

Hate hot lines
If you suspect someone you know is involved in a hate crime or presents a threat of committing such an offense, call these numbers:
Hate Crime National Hotline (USA): 206-350-HATE (4283).
Hate Crimes Hotline at the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights: 1-800-552-6843.




Hate groups can be found easily on the Internet if you look up a word like “racism” on Google. They proudly post their swasticas and spout vicious statements while they proclaim, in many cases, that they are religious and are not “sematic” as one representative said in a very good documentary from the 1990's. “The number of such groups surged in response to President Barack Obama’s election and the economic downturn – growing from 888 in 2008 to 1,007 in 2012 – before falling back slightly last year, according to Mark Potok of the SPLC.” He states, “Members of these groups and others were involved in 5,796 “incidents” in 2012, the most recent year for which the FBI has compiled data. This is a decline from 6,222 in 2011. In 2012 the incidents resulted in 7,164 victims.

The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) reports incidents for the Bureau of Justice includes incidents which were not reported to the police. Between 1995 and 2012 the number of incidents has declined, with race remaining the most common throughout, but with sexual identity being up from “the low teens” to 20% by 2012. Of anti-religious crimes, “Hate crimes against Jews remain far more numerous than hate crimes against the larger population of Christians. But the raw number of hate crimes against Jews has fallen, with part of that burden falling on Muslims.”

Hate groups that have beliefs denigrating a whole class of people are tracked by the Southern Poverty Law Center, and includes “a second list of “Patriot” groups that “define themselves as opposed to the ‘New World Order,’ engage in groundless conspiracy theorizing, or advocate or adhere to extreme anti-government doctrines.” They fear that the UN is trying to create one government for the whole world and will take over the countries who join, crushing individual freedom. These organizations are also racist, antisemitic, and often against “government,” preferring the lawless days of the 1800's when the US was expanding westward. There are even two religious groups that are mentioned as hate groups – the Westboro Baptist Church of Wichita, KS and the “Christian Identity” church.

I couldn't say about most of these groups what the cross-section of Americans who are represented is, but the group of about eight people who were on the documentary that I saw were obviously poor (from their clothing and house), uneducated (the man whom was quoted above as claiming that his group was not “sematic,”), and “conservative” to the point of hating all government. There was also the pastor of the Christian Identity church who was interviewed in the film. He looked prosperous enough, but he and his sister both spouted anti-gay, anti-Jewish and anti-black statements while smiling a smirking smile. In a tape of one of his “sermons,” he took a Jewish yarmulke from his pocket and wiped it on the seat of his pants, then threw it on the floor and stomped on it.

The depth of such hatred is simply shocking. I do believe it to be a form of insanity, as a healthy person is positive in attitude and philosophy. The whole subject is depressing to me. The “absence of light” among these people is frightening, as I know it to be a permanent part of the white culture in the US and also in Europe. I think it will never succeed in its political goals, though, as most people are not sick enough to espouse those ideas.




The 'Zero-Emission' Engine Is Almost Ready for Prime Time – NBC
By Jason Overdorf, GlobalPost Correspondent
First published April 16 2014

STUTTGART, Germany — At the Mercedes-Benz headquarters here, a showroom display illustrates the rapid evolution of the iconic luxury brand’s hydrogen-fueled cars.

In a 1992 prototype, the fuel cell takes up the entire cargo area of a delivery van. Across the room, today's model — now merely the size of an average television set — is displayed in front of a neon-lit outline of a compact passenger car.

This “zero emission” engine, it appears, is ready for prime time.
With the aid of government spending and joint efforts by Ford and Nissan, Daimler — Mercedes’s parent corporation — aims to start selling hydrogen-fueled cars to the public as early as 2017.

If they take off, the biggest impact may be felt not in the car industry but in wind energy. Experts say a large commercial market could enable green energy producers to use their excess power to make clean hydrogen instead of storing it in costly batteries.

To meet Europe's aggressive targets for emissions reductions, Daimler is developing hybrids and electric cars, too. But although hydrogen-powered cars have been slower to hit the market, their potential benefit to the wind-power industry means they may become even bigger in Germany, says Christian Mohrdieck, director of Daimler's fuel cell program.

“We’re very sure we can achieve a product cost level which is competitive [with today's hybrid cars]," he says. “But to get there, we still need to work very intensively on the business side.”

The selling points for consumers are strong.
Unlike hybrids, hydrogen-fueled cars are truly “zero emission” vehicles, powered by a chemical reaction with water as its only by-product. And unlike plug-in electrics, hydrogen-powered cars have the same range as those running on gasoline or diesel — and can be refueled just as quickly.

That doesn’t mean the going will be easy.
Expensive platinum components hydrogen cars require mean it will be challenging to bring their cost below $100,000.

Moreover, while drivers of hybrids can refuel at ordinary gas stations and battery-powered car owners can plug them in at home, hydrogen cars will require a network of special fueling stations.

Prominent critics such as Elon Musk, founder of the burgeoning electric car manufacturer Tesla, joke that hydrogen is the fuel of the future — and always will be.
“The fuel cell is so bulls**t,” he told employees at the launch of a new service center for his plug-in sports cars in Germany last year.

“It's suitable for the after-stage of rockets, but not for cars.”
Skepticism like this hasn’t discouraged investment, however.

In 2012, Germany's Transportation Ministry, Daimler and several other companies agreed to finance a network of 50 refueling stations across the country by 2015.
In September, Air Liquide, Daimler, Linde, OMV, Shell and Total unveiled plans to expand that network to some 400 stations by 2023, with the first 100 in place in time for Daimler's commercial launch.

Klaus Bonhoff, who heads Germany's National Organization for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology, says that would be enough to pass the industry’s first major test.
“In order to sell the first vehicles that will show up in the showrooms, you have to give the customer a certain gut feeling that he is able to refuel the vehicle he's about to buy,” he said in a telephone interview.

There’s another important factor at play.
In Germany, where an aggressive shift to green energy production known as “Energiewende,” or “energy transition,” has created a booming wind-energy industry, the impact could reach far beyond the automotive business.

Unlike conventional power plants, the output of wind and solar energy plants fluctuates dramatically — so much so that Germany's many wind-power companies sometimes produce as much as four times the amount of energy being consumed, which destabilizes the grid.

To offload and store that excess power, wind producers currently use costly batteries or pump water uphill, from where it can be allowed to flow down again to produce hydroelectric power. Neither solution is very efficient.

The commercialization of hydrogen-fueled cars would allow them instead to use excess wind energy for producing hydrogen — which is made by splitting water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen — and tap a lucrative new market.

That's where hydrogen's infrastructure hurdle may turn out to be a surprise advantage.
It’s still unclear how businesses can make a profit from plug-in car charging stations, which take six hours to charge a car. Hydrogen stations, in contrast, would operate on much the same model as existing conventional pumps, making the wind-to-hydrogen business not so different from today's petroleum-to-gasoline supply chain.
That, Bonhoff says, would enable the industry to “get to those viable business cases" much faster.




“In a 1992 prototype, the fuel cell takes up the entire cargo area of a delivery van. Across the room, today's model — now merely the size of an average television set — is displayed in front of a neon-lit outline of a compact passenger car.” This new car, featuring a “zero-emission” engine is expected to emerge in 2017. It is hoped that the wind energy industry will gain a market in providing “clean hydrogen” to replace the batteries of present day cars. Hydrogen cars have a driving range equal to gasoline or diesel cars, and can be quickly refueled.

“We’re very sure we can achieve a product cost level which is competitive [with today's hybrid cars]," he says. “But to get there, we still need to work very intensively on the business side.” Due to the expense of platinum which is used in the component parts, the price will hopefully be something under $100,000. Most new inventions do come down in price as time goes on. Hydrogen cars will also require “a network of specialized refueling stations.... In 2012, Germany's Transportation Ministry, Daimler and several other companies agreed to finance a network of 50 refueling stations across the country by 2015.” with further plans to build 400 stations by 2023.

The wind farm industry in Germany has one problem – it produces so much energy that it can “destabilize the grid.” To avoid that they are using expensive batteries for storage or pumping water uphill to then fall back down and produce hydroelectric power, both of which are highly inefficient. However, “the commercialization of hydrogen-fueled cars would allow them instead to use excess wind energy for producing hydrogen — which is made by splitting water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen — and tap a lucrative new market.”

When I first heard of hydrogen cars a few years ago I had fears of hydrogen explosions and it sounded too advanced scientifically for it to come into being so fast. It looks like a number of companies jumped on the task of producing the engines “with both feet” and have made really great strides. Though it may remain too expensive for middle class people due to the price of platinum, it would be wonderful for the science of global warming as it produces no exhaust other than water. This is the second hopeful scientific article on global warming in the last two days. I hope these cars will “sell like hot cakes” around the world among those who are wealthy enough to afford them. Also, if world governments were to put some money into their production maybe the price would come down. Of course that would be another “unnecessary expense” for government dollars, but solutions to global warming are worth the investment, I feel. I am looking forward to more news on this development.





Two lucky kids got a ride in the Popemobile at the Vatican – CBS
AP April 16, 2014

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis has given a lift to two lucky kids during his general audience in St. Peter's Square.

A particularly jovial Francis hopped off his white, open-air car Wednesday to greet a group of fifth graders from Perugia who presented him with a T-shirt from their school. Seemingly joking, Francis asked if any of them wanted to take a spin through the square.

"Me! Me! Me!" they yelled.
Francis picked 11-year-olds Livio Bastianelli and Davide Maria Bianchi and the two hopped aboard.

Bastianelli told The Associated Press it was a ride of a lifetime: "I was really excited. That never happens!"

Francis' sense of humor was also on display later, as he joked that a monsignor, forced to cut short a reading because of a nagging cough, was "getting old."




This pope really is a very lively person with a true love of children, I think. I remember the time that a smaller boy got up on the stage with him, pulled on his trousers and settled himself down in the Pope's chair. Nobody rushed up and removed or scolded the boy. One article described Pope Francis as “the people's pope.” He certainly doesn't take himself too seriously and is truly gregarious. It's refreshing to see it. He reminds me of Mother Teresa in that way. It also reminds me of Jesus, when he reprimanded his disciples for removing some children who had approached him, saying “Suffer the little children to come unto me, for such is the kingdom of heaven.” I remember Johnny Carson, on the other hand, saying something like these words, “Never work with children or animals.” They do have a tendency to do something funny and unrehearsed in the twinkling of an eye, and it takes patience and a sense of humor to cope with it. I do like this pope.





Al Qaeda's biggest gathering in years captured on video: Why officials are scrutinizing footage
By Amanda Cochran CBS News April 16, 2014

U.S. intelligence analysts are examining a video that appears to show the largest al Qaeda gathering in years.

The recording recently appeared on jihadist websites, and shows men meeting in a rugged, mountainous area. Many carry black flags and rifles.
Officials believe the video is recent and genuine.

The video, according to CBS News homeland security correspondent Bob Orr, is "part pep rally and part propaganda tape."

Intelligence officials say it's highly unusual to see a large gathering of militants in an area that's been so frequented targeted by U.S. drone strikes, and it's very rare to see senior commanders appear in that kind of setting, Orr reported. The leader of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Nasir al-Wuhayshi, is seen on the tape restating his vow to strike the United States. Because the tape celebrates a February prison break by al Qaeda fighters in Yemen, analysts believe the video was made relatively recently.

Orr added it's also notable that the tape shows some al Qaeda fighters with their faces blurred out, an obvious attempt to conceal their identities. The worry now, Orr explained, is that those operatives could be involved in some kind of future plotting, so U.S. officials are taking a hard look at the tape, trying to pick up any clues that could point to specific threats.

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is the most powerful al Qaeda franchise on the globe, and the video represents a serious threat, Orr noted. "(This is) the group that tried repeatedly in recent years to hit us here in the U.S. It's the group behind the two underwear bombs, also behind that plot a few years ago to put explosives inside computer printers on cargo planes. And sources also remind us that (al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's) master bomb builder -- a man named Ibrahim al-Asiri -- is still working to perfect undetectable bombs. We don't see Asiri in this latest video, but intel officials assure us, he remains in Yemen and continues to pose a very real threat."




Bob Orr, in reference to the recent video says it is “part pep rally and part propaganda tape.” It is unusual for its inclusion of such a large group with their commanders. Nasir al-Wuhayshi, the leader over the Arabia Peninsula, is recorded while pledging to strike the US again. Because of its contents, US authorities believe it is a recent tape. The blurring of some faces is thought to be an attempt to disguise the men, and therefore US officials think they may be a part of an upcoming plan. I do hope they fail.

Between Al Qaeda and their companion organization the Taliban, they represent two of the worst branches of Islamic thinking. Of course, they aren't really a religion. They're an irregular army based on hate. Most Islamic people probably don't even claim them as members of the same group. Maybe they also wouldn't approve of those who practice female sexual mutilation, child marriages and “honor killings,” either. I hope not.






Father fatally stabbed protecting homeless man
By Crimesider Staff CBS News April 15, 2014

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. - A southern California father was stabbed to death outside a pool hall early Sunday when he tried to stop a group of men from harassing a homeless man, reports CBS Los Angeles.

Donnie Reed, 39, of Rancho Cucamonga, has just stepped outside the pool hall with friends around 2:30 a.m. when he saw a homeless man being harassed and stepped in to intervene, according to the station.

The group of men then turned a knife on Reed and his friends. Witnesses called police, but by the time authorities arrived, the attackers had fled.

Reed, who had been stabbed in the chest, died less than an hour later at a nearby hospital. Another man was stabbed in the head and is in stable condition, reports the station.
 
Reed's wife, Jenny, says she is mourning the loss of her best friend, hero and husband of 19 years. The two were high school sweethearts, reports the station.
"I want him to stand in front of my kids and tell them why he took their daddy from them -- that's all I want," Jenny Reed told CBS Los Angeles of her husband's attacker.
The distraught mother says she can't understand why this happened when her husband was trying to do the right thing.

"It was just Donnie being Donnie and trying to help somebody who needed help," she told the station.

The San Bernardino Sheriff's Department is asking anyone with information about the incident to call Detective Daniel Hanke or Sgt. Trevis Newport at (909) 387-3589. Anonymous tips can be left at (800) 78-CRIME (27463) or at http://www.wetip.com.




If it's possible to earn your way to heaven, I think this good Samaritan may have his ticket in hand now. He did the noble thing, along with his friends, but such good work is sometimes rewarded by death. It looks like an ordinary gang of street toughs was “having a little fun” when Reed interrupted them. I wish our society didn't breed such useless violence. They must have a heavy load of generalized hatred and anger to do these things. I hope it wasn't teenagers, but it most likely was. They're old enough to be fiercely aggressive and young enough to fail to see the error of their ways. I'll look for followup articles on this in the next few weeks.





Missing child found stuck inside claw machine
CBS News April 15, 2014

LINCOLN, Neb. -- A little boy is safe after an unexpected play date inside a claw machine.

A 24-year-old woman called 911 on Monday night to say her 3-year-old son had disappeared from her Lincoln home, CBS affiliate KOLN reported. She said he had slipped out of the unlocked apartment while she was in the bathroom.

At the same time, employees across the street at Madsen's Bowling & Billiards called police. They said a customer had alerted them that a young child was stuck inside a coin-operated claw machine.

Sure enough, police found the missing boy inside the machine, where he was happily playing with stuffed animals inside the machine,

Madsen's called the vending machine company and the boy was freed from the machine without any injury, KOLN reported.

Police said the mother would not receive any citations because she acted quickly and appropriately as soon as she realized her son was missing and there were no indications of neglect.




Leaving our homes unlocked is no longer a good thing to do. Her son slipped out of the unlocked apartment, though he was only three years old, but maybe he's a bright little boy and knew how to get out, though you would think the door knob would be a little high for him to reach. Maybe he's tall for his age. Luckily, the woman is not going to be charged with neglect. I would like to have seen the faces of the employees when they saw him happily playing with the toys. How did he get in there? Again, I think that boy is very smart. He is also adventuresome, though. His mother does need to watch him more closely.





Mystery of S.D. girls missing 42 years finally surfaces – CBS
By Crimesider Staff AP April 15, 2014

ELK POINT, S.D. - May 1971 -- two South Dakota girls, both 17, and headed to an end-of-school party, drove off a gravel road into a flooded creek. Last fall, a drought brought their long-submerged Studebaker into view.

On Tuesday, nearly 43 years after the teens vanished, authorities confirmed that the 1960 Studebaker did indeed contain the remains of Cheryl Miller and Pamella Jackson.
At a news conference in Elk Point, state and local investigators showed dozens of photographs of well-preserved clothing, a purse and even Miller's driver's license with her smiling photograph.

Attorney General Marty Jackley said classmates who saw the two girls from Vermillion before they disappeared that night, along with other evidence, indicated they had not been drinking. In addition, mechanical tests on the car pointed away from foul play because it was in high gear, he said.

"It's consistent with a car accident," Jackley said.
A fisherman who remembered the 42-year-old case called authorities last fall after noticing one of the car's wheels sticking out of the creek.

The disappearance of the Vermillion High School girls was one of the initial investigations of South Dakota's cold case unit in 2004.

A September 2004 search of a Union County farm turned up apparently unrelated bones, clothing, a purse, photographs, newspaper articles and other items, but not the car.
In a warrant authorizing the search, authorities said that David Lykken, who lived at the farm in 1971 and was a classmate of the girls, might have been involved in the disappearance of Miller and Jackson as well as three other unnamed people. Lykken is in prison serving an unrelated 227-year sentence for rape and kidnapping.

In July 2007, a Union County grand jury indicted Lykken on two counts of premeditated murder, two counts of felony murder and two counts of murder in the disappearance of Miller and Jackson. But state prosecutors dropped all six murder charges after concluding a jailhouse informant apparently lied about Lykken supposedly admitting to causing the deaths.

Union County Sheriff Dan Limoges said Tuesday he had no regrets about the investigation.

"The only unfortunate thing I would add is for the Lykken family, for what they had to go through. But I don't make any apologies for doing our job," he said.
"It's easy to second-guess what could have been done or should have been done," Limoges said. "It just wasn't meant to be until recently."

Family members of the girls attended the news conference but didn't speak.
The remains of Cheryl Miller and Pamella Jackson will be returned to the families for burial, after more than four decades.




“A September 2004 search of a Union County farm turned up apparently unrelated bones, clothing, a purse, photographs, newspaper articles and other items, but not the car.” It looks like this is the real mystery. What leads did police follow to find these bones and possessions? Or did David Lykken have anything to do with their car going into the water after all? People have been killed and then placed in a car which was simply pushed into a body of water. The South Carolina housewife who tried to kill her children did that. From the bones found on the farm it looks like he was responsible for several other cases, if not theirs. Those charges against him were dropped, however, when it was discovered that the “jailhouse snitch” who fingered him was lying. Because of their tendency to lie in order to get a reduced sentence, such people aren't really very good evidence. Of course, after 42 years there probably wasn't much other evidence available. The article says that he committed one or more rapes and kidnappings in addition, so I guess Lykken will remain in prison.