Husband arrested for murder after wife’s body found in dumpster
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(COOPERSBURG, Pa.) — A man has been arrested in the murder of a New Jersey woman whose body was found in a Coopersburg, Pennsylvania, dumpster over the weekend.
Rolando Corte, 42, was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Lucrecia Jadan Sumba, 39, from Elizabeth, New Jersey, according to the Union County Prosecutor’s Office.
Sumba was reported missing by friends and family on Jan. 9 to the Elizabeth Police Department. Sumba was killed last Wednesday, according to prosecutors.
Corte was identified and arrested on Sunday. He is being held at the Union County Jail in New Jersey and is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.
If found guilty, he could face up to life in prison.
It’s unclear if the suspect and victim had any connection or what led police to identify Corte as a suspect.
The woman was found in a dumpster on S. 3rd Street in Coopersburg just before 6 p.m. on Saturday, according to police.
Coopersburg, a suburb of Allentown, is about 80 miles west of Elizabeth.
An autopsy revealed Sumba’s cause of death was sharp force injuries and her death was ruled a homicide, according to the county coroner.
“A joint investigation conducted by the Union County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Task Force, Elizabeth Police Department, Coopersburg Police Department, and the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office led to the identification and arrest of Corte,” according to the prosecutor’s office.
Coopersburg Police did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
(NEW YORK) — The jury has begun deliberating in the subway chokehold death trial of Daniel Penny.
The jury — comprised of seven women and five men — is considering whether to convict Penny of manslaughter and negligent homicide in the death of Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man, on a New York City subway train.
To convict, prosecutors have told the jury that Penny’s use of lethal force must be considered unjustifiable and that Penny acted recklessly and consciously disregarded the substantial risk of putting Neely in the chokehold for so long. Defense attorneys told the jury that Penny was only trying to protect subway passengers.
Defense attorneys also said that Penny never intended to kill Neely, while prosecutors said they do not have to prove Penny intended to kill Neely to have the jury hand down a guilty verdict.
(WASHINGTON) — The thousands of drone sightings reported over the last month in Northeastern states don’t appear to be “anything anomalous,” nor do they present a national security or public safety risk, federal officials said in a multiagency statement late Monday.
The FBI has received more than 5,000 tips in the last few weeks about drone sightings in New Jersey and other states, said the statement, which was released jointly by the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Defense.
Those tips have resulted in about 100 leads, with federal investigators supporting state and local officials.
“Having closely examined the technical data and tips from concerned citizens, we assess that the sightings to date include a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and stars mistakenly reported as drones,” the joint statement said.
Uncrewed aerial drones have been lighting up the sky at night in New Jersey and nearby states for weeks, since about mid-November, leading to concern from residents and speculation online. Some had demanded answers from local and state officials for answers.
The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security have deployed infrared cameras and drone detection technology to ensure the drones flying over the New Jersey and New York area aren’t harmful, according to a law enforcement source. Dozens of agencies have been out daily to find answers and track down any operators acting “illegally or with nefarious intent,” the FBI said recently.
The agencies are also looking at social media and other photos to determine what exactly is in the photos. Most of the photos and video depict manned aircraft, according to a law enforcement source.
But the newly released statement appeared to take a sober view of the mysterious drone sightings, noting that federal official have yet to identify “anything anomalous and do not assess the activity to date to present a national security or public safety risk over the civilian airspace in New Jersey or other states in the northeast.”
“That said, we recognize the concern among many communities,” the statement said. “We continue to support state and local authorities with advanced detection technology and support of law enforcement.”
ABC News’ Calvin Milliner, David Brennan, Luke Barr, Meredith Deliso, Luis Martinez, Matt Seyler, Aaron Katersky, Sarah Kolinovsky and Cheyenne Haslett contributed to this report.
(YEMASSEE, SC) — Forty-three primates remain on the loose in a South Carolina town, two days after escaping from a research laboratory, authorities said Friday.
As of midday Friday, the monkeys “have not yet been re-captured and returned to their enclosures,” a Yemassee Police Department spokesperson said in a statement.
Traps were being set around the Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center in Yemassee, where the rhesus macaque monkeys escaped en masse from their enclosures around 1 p.m. on Wednesday, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.
The animals have since been seen near the research center, according to the Yemassee police spokesperson.
“Current observations show the primates playfully exploring the perimeter fence of the facility, engaging with those still inside by cooing to them,” the spokesperson said while urging the public to “stay clear of this area as Alpha Genesis works diligently to safely recover these animals and return them to their habitats unharmed.”
The monkeys escaped when a new employee at the Alpha Genesis center left the door to their enclosure open, Yemassee Town Administrator Matthew Garnes said during a briefing Thursday with town officials.
Mia Mitchell, a resident of Yemassee, told ABC News she was driving home Wednesday evening when she saw one of the escaped primates running across a road.
“I thought my eyes were deceiving me and I was like, ‘That couldn’t be a monkey,'” Mitchell said.
Mitchell said she and her daughter immediately pulled over and stopped to get a closer look.
“I turned around and parked on the side of the road and it ran across the road toward a house and up a tree,” Mitchell said. “I stood there and my daughter, she was jokingly saying, ‘Here monkey, monkey!’ And I was like, ‘Girl, don’t call that monkey.'”
Police officers were searching for the furry fugitives using thermal imaging cameras, according to the sheriff’s office.
The primates, according to police, are all very young females weighing 6 to 7 pounds each. There is no public health threat, police said.
“The animals have never been used for testing due to their young age and size,” the Yemassee Police Department said in a statement Thursday. “A spokesperson from Alpha Genesis can confirm that these animals are too young to carry diseases.”
Police warned residents that the monkeys can act “skittish and any additional noise or movement could hinder their safe capture.”
“Residents are strongly advised to keep doors and windows secured to prevent these animals from entering homes,” the sheriff’s office said. “If you spot any of the escaped animals, please contact 911 immediately and refrain from approaching them.”
Police said they are working with staff of Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center to find the escapees.
Representatives of the Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center could not be immediately reached for comment.
According to its website, Alpha Genesis “provides the highest quality nonhuman primate products and bio-research services worldwide,” including serum, plasma, whole blood and tissue samples.
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said in a social media post Thursday afternoon that she is looking into the escaped monkeys.
“We’re diligently gathering all relevant information to keep our constituents informed regarding the recent escape of primates from Alpha Genesis Inc. in Beaufort County,” Mace said. “Our office has been in direct communication with the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office and is working closely with their team to monitor and assess the situation.”
