Law Education

A pregnant woman was raped, murdered and her unborn daughter killed in a brutal knife attack in her flat, a jury has heard.

Nikitta Grender, who was due to give birth in two weeks, was sexually assaulted before being stabbed in the neck and stomach by Carl Whant, the court was told. The knife penetrated the body of her child, whom she had already named Kelsey-May.

Newport crown court in south Wales heard that Whant, 27, a nightclub bouncer, then set fire to the bed Grender was lying on in an attempt to cover up his crime.

Whant, who took notes as the prosecution outlined its case, denies rape, murder, child destruction and arson.

Gregg Taylor, prosecuting, said Grender, 19, and her boyfriend Ryan Mayes, 18, had been looking forward to the birth of their child.

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SYRACUSE — Some good news for Syracuse, crime rates are going down.  2011 was safer in the city when compared to the last two years.

There were 13 homicides in Syracuse, a number that has been decreasing since 2009.  Burglaries, stolen cars and other serious crimes are also down.

Its not all rosy in the city, as one crime stat is on its way up. In 2011 Syracuse Police received 273 calls for shots being fired, up from the prior year. The number of people injured when shots are fired is also up 16%.

Syracuse Police are already taking action, a community policing team called, “sweep” will be hitting the streets. Chief Frank Fowler says the numbers overall are good news. “

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Without comment, the high court let stand a decision from the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that Stemple’s right to a fair trial was not violated by the admission of an incriminating taped interview with Tulsa police before he was officially under arrest.

Stemple, now 46, and an accomplice beat Stemple’s wife — Trisha, who was 30 — with a baseball bat and then ran her over several times with a pickup on U.S. 75 outside of Tulsa.

Pruitt asked the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals to set an execution date in 60 days or the earliest date the court deems fit.

“Timothy Shaun Stemple has exhausted all of his appeals in a court of law,” Pruitt said. “After

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Enlarge Final days of New Hampshire GOP Primary 2012 gallery (15 photos)

MANCHESTER, N.H. Although the Republican presidential candidates seemed tense and on the defense at times over the past few days, the overall mood in New Hampshire has been one of excitement ahead of the first-in-the-nation primary.

On highway overpasses and at busy intersections, signs supporting each of the candidates are waving in the wind.

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WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Michele Bachmann told a small group of supporters Tuesday night that she’s staying in the presidential race as the only true conservative who can defeat the sitting president, despite a bleak showing in the Iowa caucuses.

The Minnesota congresswoman was running in last place among six candidates as returns came in from the nation’s first Republican presidential nominating contest.

“I believe that I am that true conservative who can and who will defeat Barack Obama in 2012,” she said. “What we need is a fearless conservative, one with no compromises on their record on spending on health care, on crony capitalism, on defending America, on standing with our ally Israel.”

Shortly before Bachmann spoke, her campaign manager suggested she might leave the race. A Find more info…