Judge orders Derrick Twardoski to undergo mental exam
CHESTER, Ill. (AP) - A southern Illinois judge has ordered a mental evaluation of a man accused of setting a house fire that killed four children.
The mental fitness examination for 33-year-old Derrick Twardoski was requested Monday by James Kelley, his Randolph County public defender.
A hearing on the testing's outcome is scheduled for June 20.
Twardoski has pleaded not guilty to four counts of first-degree murder in the May 10 deaths in Percy, a village about 60 miles southeast of St. Louis. The fire killed siblings ages 12, 9 and 5-year-old twins.
The county's state's attorney, Jeremy Walker, has said he doesn't consider the fire random. Although he's declined to say why authorities suspect Twardoski set it or whether Twardoski knew anyone who lived in the home.
Closing arguments begin in Donald Trump trial
CHICAGO (AP) - An attorney for an 87-year-old grandmother who accuses Donald Trump of cheating her in a condo deal has told jurors the "Apprentice" star lied on the witness stand.
The accusation came as closing arguments began Wednesday in the week-old trial in Chicago.
Plaintiff attorney Shelly Kulwin told jurors Trump stepped on the stand before them "to lie, evade and spout infomercials."
His voice rising, he portrayed the case as a battle between an honest woman and a powerful billionaire. He said only in other countries are the powerful guaranteed to prevail at trial. He boomed, "Not in America!"
Jacqueline Goldberg alleges that Trump cheated her when she bought properties at the Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago. Trump has denied the allegations.
Jurors will withdraw to deliberate later Wednesday.
Judge orders retrial in Potosi murder case
POTOSI, Mo. (AP) - A mistrial has been declared in the first-degree murder case of an eastern Missouri man accused of killing his son-in-law.
The Park Hills Daily Journal reports jurors deliberated for several hours Tuesday before telling the judge they wouldn't be able to reach a unanimous verdict in the case of 47-year-old Martin Gorse of Cadet. The judge declared a mistrial and the case will be retried.
Gorse is accused of killing 31-year-old Ronald Coleman Jr. last year at Gorse's home. Gorse testified that he and Coleman argued. He claimed he shot the younger man in self-defense.
Boston suspect's defense team gets major boost
BOSTON (AP) - Prominent death penalty lawyer Judy Clarke is joining the team representing the suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings.
The appointment of Clarke, based in San Diego, Calif., was approved Monday by U.S. Magistrate Judge Marianne Bowler.
Bowler denied a request from Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's public defender to appoint a second death penalty lawyer. Bowler says Tsarnaev's lawyers could renew their motion to appoint another death penalty expert if Tsarnaev is indicted.
The 19 year old Tsarnaev has been charged with using a weapon of mass destruction during the April 15 marathon. Three people were killed and more than 260 injured when two bombs exploded near the finish line.
Clarke's clients have included Unabomber Ted Kaczynski; Susan Smith, who drowned her two children; and most recently Tucson, Ariz., shooter Jared Loughner. All received life sentences instead of the death penalty.
Trial continues for STL man accused in Minnesota triple murder
More testimony is expected today in the trial of a St. Louis man charged with killing three people at a Minnesota home last year.
Thirty-five year old Eddie Mosley is charged in the deaths of DeLois Brown and her parents, Clover and James Bolden, Senior. The Bolden's had just moved from East St. Louis to be closer to their daughter.
Mosley's half-sister testified Friday that he'd seemed "desperate" to silence a teenager who had accused him of molesting her. She testified that he'd called the girl's mother several times in the days just before the murders.
Prosecutors say Mosley had driven from St. Louis to Brown's Brooklyn Park, Minnesota home to silence the girl, but she wasn't there.
Mosley's attorney says he had no motive for the killings.
Man with two overturned murder convictions, will face third trial
Mark Woodworth walked out of the Livingston County jail at midday Friday and repeatedly said he was overwhelmed by the prospect of his new freedom. He thanked his friends and relatives for their support, hours after a judge's order releasing him on a $50,000 bond.
Woodworth has been serving a life sentence in the fatal shooting of Cathy Robertson, the wife of his father's farming partner. His latest conviction was thrown out in January when the Missouri Supreme Court ruled state prosecutors had failed to share evidence with Woodworth that could have helped his defense.
Attorney General Chris Koster quickly announced he would try Woodworth again.
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