Hundreds of miles from landfall, Hurricane Helene’s ‘apocalyptic’ devastation unfolds
Heavy rains from hurricane Helene caused record flooding and damage in Asheville, NC, Sept. 28, 2024. — Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — The death toll from Hurricane Helene is still climbing as Americans across the Southeast count the cost of last week’s massive storm.
The storm made landfall Thursday night as a Category 4 hurricane in Florida’s Big Bend region with sustained winds of 140 mph.
Helene intensified as it approached the U.S. coast, bringing with it devastating winds, massive flooding and enormous storm surge.
In North Carolina, extreme floods washed away homes and bridges. At one point, authorities closed 400 roads deeming them unsafe for travel. At least 30 people died and dozens are missing, state authorities said.
“This is an unprecedented tragedy that requires an unprecedented response,” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said.
Members of the National Guard and relief teams from 19 states joined search and rescue missions in the state.
William Ray, the director of the North Carolina Department for Public Safety emergency management, said response teams “are working around the clock to make rescues, to access neighborhoods.”
In Asheville, there has been no cell service or water supply for several days. Zeb Smathers — the mayor of Canton, to the west of Asheville — told Good Morning America the situation was “apocalyptic, not just for Canton, but the entire region.”
The area is suffering from a total cell phone “blackout,” Smathers said, meaning residents are unable to check on loved ones or urge those at risk from further flooding to evacuate.
Parts of North Carolina were inundated with up to 30 inches of rain, triggering deadly flash floods and landslides.
In Lake Lure in the west of the state, resident George Carter told Good Morning America: “When you turn the corner and you see your community just full of buildings and trash and floating boathouses and floating homes, it just sort of takes your breath away.”
“It was scary,” he added.
Adam Jackon, from Tyron, North Carolina, said neighbors were trapped by falling trees.
There were “probably 50 trees blocking my neighbors from coming out,” he said. “I started helping them yesterday, the neighbors at the other end of the road. We got us out, but the other neighbors are trapped.”
The Painter family from Asheville, meanwhile, returned home to find 35,000 gallons of water in their basement. “It’s eerie,” Jacob Painter said. “I had a pit in the bottom of my stomach the whole time.”
“You’re stepping on mud and trying not to fall because it’s so thick and slippery,” Ciara Lantz-Painter said.
Randall Houghton spoke with Good Morning America near a devastated motorhome site. His camper was washed away by floodwaters, he said, forcing him to spend the night on the side of the road.
“It’s crazy,” said Houghton. “I anticipated something bad when she said the water is going to come over the top of the parking tables.”
At least two people were killed in Tennessee, though that number may rise as search and rescue efforts continue. More than 70 people are still missing, state officials said.
Among them is Steve Cloyd, whose jeep was found in the aftermath of the storm, according to his family.
His family’s hope, wife Keli told Good Morning America, is that Steve was able to escape the vehicle. “I need that big one, so I can breathe again, so my kids can breathe again,” she said.
“His Minnesota Vikings won today. So I want to sit here and watch those highlights with him.”
ABC New’s Joel Lyons, Dom Proto, Octavio Cadenas, Alex Colletta and Kimberly Randolph contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Police in New York City are urging the public for help in identifying a suspect who shot five people at New York City’s West Indian American Day Parade on Monday in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Crown Heights.
One of the victims, a 25-year-old who was shot in the abdomen, has died, a spokesperson for the NYPD told ABC News on Tuesday. Police have not named the victims, but NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said during a press conference on Monday afternoon that of the five victims, four are males and one is female.
“Two are critical. Three are going to survive,” Chell said.
The event is one of the world’s largest festivals celebrating Caribbean culture, drawing more than a million participants and spectators, according to event organizers.
According to Chell, an unidentified gunman targeted a group of people in a shooting that took place at around 2:35 p.m. ET along the parade’s route near 301 Eastern Parkway.
“This was not random,” Chell said. “This was an intentional act by one person towards a group of people.”
“We do not by no means have any active shooter or anything of that nature running around Eastern Parkway as we speak,” he added and indicated that the parade would go on following the shooting.
According to WABC, the four other victims include a 69-year-old woman shot in the back right shoulder, a 64-year-old man shot in the right arm, a 36-year-old man shot in the head and a 16-year-old male who was shot in the left arm.
Chell described the suspect as a Black male in his 20s with a slim build, wearing a brown shirt with paint stains and a black bandana.
The NYPD is urging the public to share any photos of videos of the parade that could help the investigation.
“If you have any information at all about the individual who opened fire into the crowd of West Indian Day Parade revelers, we need you to call [NYPDTips] immediately,” the NYPD’s 77th precinct wrote in a Monday afternoon post on “X.” “If you have video or photo, it may be crucial to the investigation; please come forward with it.”
The festival, which is also known as J’Ouvert – a creole and French word that means “daybreak,” has been marred by gun violence in the past, according to ABC station in New York City, WABC.
The NYPD said that Labor Day weekend is “one of the toughest” weekends for police in the city, with multiple events taking place, including the festival.
“Our cops are working extremely hard, it’s been one of the safest months that we’ve had in a long time in New York City, and we have one of our safest weeks with shooting violence,” police said. “However, today, one person intentionally going after a group of people tried to ruin the day for everybody, and we’re not going to let that happen.”
ABC News’ Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.
(LOS ANGELES) — Five people have been charged in connection with the ketamine death of “Friends” star Matthew Perry, federal officials in Los Angeles announced Thursday.
Three of the defendants, including a doctor, are in plea agreements for federal drug charges in connection with this death, while two others — including a second doctor and a woman known as “The Ketamine Queen” who is accused of selling Perry the batch of ketamine that killed him, were arrested on Thursday, according to the Department of Justice.
U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said investigators conducted a wide-ranging investigation following Perry’s death in October 2023 that “revealed a broad, underground criminal network responsible for distributing large quantities of ketamine to Mr. Perry and others.”
Defendants accused of taking advantage of Perry’s addiction
The lead defendants in the case are Jasveen Sangha, 41, allegedly known as “The Ketamine Queen,” and Dr. Salvador Plasencia, 42, a licensed medical doctor known as “Dr. P,” who are expected to be arraigned later Thursday, the DOJ said.
The three others separately charged in the case include Perry’s live-in assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, 59, who admitted in court documents to administering the ketamine on the day that Perry died; Dr. Mark Chavez, 54, a licensed medical doctor who admitted in court documents to selling ketamine to Plasencia; and Eric Fleming, 54, who admitted in court documents that he distributed the ketamine that killed Perry, the DOJ said.
“These defendants took advantage of Mr. Perry’s addiction issues to enrich themselves,” Estrada said during a press briefing on Thursday. “They knew what they were doing was risking great danger to Mr. Perry, but they did it anyway.”
Estrada said that in the fall of 2023, Perry, who has struggled with addiction in the past, “fell back into addiction, and these defendants took advantage to profit for themselves.”
Plasencia allegedly worked with Chavez to obtain ketamine and with Iwamasa to distribute that ketamine to Perry. Over two months, they distributed approximately 20 viles of ketamine to Perry in exchange for $55,000 in cash, Estrada said.
“Plasencia saw this as an opportunity to profit off of Mr. Perry,” Estrada said, noting that the doctor allegedly wrote in text messages, “I wonder how much this moron will pay,” and that he wanted to be the actor’s “go-to for drugs.”
The vials cost the doctors $12 but they were selling them for $2,000 a vial to Perry, authorities said.
As a doctor, Plasencia “knew the danger of what he was doing” and allegedly told another patient that Perry was “spiraling out of control with his addiction,” Estrada said.
“Nevertheless, he continued to offer ketamine to Mr. Perry,” Estrada said.
The other lead defendant, Sangha, is accused of selling 50 vials of ketamine for approximately $11,000 in cash over two weeks to Perry, working with Fleming and Iwamasa to distribute the drugs to Perry, according to Estrada. She is accused of selling Perry the batch of ketamine that killed him.
Perry died on Oct. 28, 2023, at the age of 54. He was discovered unresponsive in a jacuzzi at his Los Angeles home, police said. An autopsy report revealed he died from the acute effects of ketamine.
After his death, some of the co-conspirators allegedly talked about distancing themselves from the actor, according to the indictment. After Perry’s death was reported in the news, Sangha instructed Fleming on Oct. 28, 2023, “Delete all our messages,” according to the prosecutors.
Plasencia allegedly provided altered and falsified medical records, “purporting to show that he had a legitimate ‘treatment plan’ in place for Perry, with the intent to influence the investigation into Perry’s death,” in February and March in response to a request amid the federal investigation, prosecutors said.
The defendants allegedly used encrypted messaging and coded language referring to ketamine as “Dr. Pepper” to distribute their drugs, according to the indictment.
The indictment alleges that the two doctors were the initial sources of Perry’s ketamine supply, but at one point federal officials believe the drugs became too expensive and Perry switched to a new source, including Sangha, a federal source said.
A search of Sangha’s home following Perry’s death revealed a “drug-selling emporium,” including ketamine, methamphetamine, cocaine, scales and ledgers, Estrada said.
An 18-count superseding indictment returned by a grand jury on Wednesday charges Plasencia and Sangha with conspiracy to distribute ketamine and distribution of ketamine.
Plasencia is also charged with seven counts of distribution of ketamine and two counts of altering and falsifying documents or records related to the federal investigation.
The indictment alleges that Sangha was additionally aware of the danger of ketamine after, years earlier, selling the drug to someone who hours later died from an overdose in August 2019. A family member of the victim sent a message to Sangha, telling her the cause of death was ketamine, according to the indictment.
Plasencia faces a maximum of 120 years in federal prison if convicted, while Sangha faces a maximum of life in prison, prosecutors said.
3 defendants in plea agreements
The three others charged in connection with Perry’s death are in various stages of plea agreements, the DOJ said.
Chavez has agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, admitting in his plea agreement to selling ketamine to Plasencia, the DOJ said. Estrada said prosecutors filed a plea grant for him on Thursday. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Aug. 30 and faces up to 10 years in prison, prosecutors said.
Fleming and Iwamasa have signed plea agreements that have been entered, Estrada said. They face up to 25 and 15 years, respectively, when they are sentenced, prosecutors said.
Fleming pleaded guilty on Aug. 8 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death, admitting in court documents that he distributed 50 vials of ketamine that he obtained from Sangha to Iwamasa, including the ketamine that killed Perry, the DOJ said.
Iwamasa pleaded guilty on Aug. 7 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death. According to his plea agreement, Perry asked Iwamasa to help him procure ketamine in September 2023 and provided his assistant with “money, or promised to reimburse him, and directed him to find sources from whom to acquire the drugs.”
Prosecutors alleged that Plasencia taught Iwamasa how to inject Perry with ketamine. Iwamasa “admitted to repeatedly injecting Perry with ketamine without medical training, including performing multiple injections on Perry on October 28, 2023 — the day Perry died,” the DOJ said.
Plea agreement recounts Perry’s final hours
Iwamasa’s plea agreement also details the day Perry died.
At Perry’s direction, Iwamasa injected him with a shot of ketamine at approximately 8:30 a.m., then again at 12:45 p.m. while the actor watched a movie, according to the plea agreement.
About 40 minutes later, Perry asked his assistant to prepare the jacuzzi for him and “‘shoot me up a big one,’ referring to another shot of ketamine,” the plea agreement stated.
Iwamasa admitted to administering the shot while Perry was in or near the jacuzzi, then leaving the house to run errands for him, according to the document.
“After returning to the residence, defendant found [Perry] face down in the jacuzzi and deceased,” the document stated.
Perry had high levels of ketamine in his blood, likely lapsed into unconsciousness and then went underwater, according to the autopsy report.
He was reported to have been receiving ketamine infusions for depression and anxiety, with the most recent therapy coming 1 1/2 weeks before his death, according to the autopsy report. However, the medical examiner wrote the ketamine in his system at death could not have been from that infusion therapy, as ketamine’s half-life is three to four hours or less.
The autopsy report also listed drowning, coronary artery disease and buprenorphine effects as contributing factors not related to the immediate cause of death. The manner of death was ruled an accident.
Prescription drugs and loose pills were found at his home, but nothing near where he was found dead, according to the autopsy report.
Multiple agencies have been investigating in the months since his death, including the DEA, Los Angeles Police Department, United States Postal Service and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Perry was known for playing Chandler Bing on the hit sitcom “Friends,” which ran from 1994 to 2004.
The actor’s family, which includes his mother, Suzanne Morrison, and his stepfather, Keith Morrison, said in a statement Thursday that they are “heartbroken by Matthew’s death, but it has helped to know law enforcement has taken his case very seriously. We look forward to justice taking its course.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(MOSCOW, Idaho) — The suspect in the murder of four University of Idaho students, Bryan Kohberger, is in court Thursday as the judge weighs whether to change the venue for his trial.
Kohberger’s lawyers hope to move the trial to a different county, arguing the local jury pool in Latah County, which encompasses the college town of Moscow, was tainted by pretrial publicity.
Defense lawyers surveyed Latah County residents and said their results found that the “pressure to convict” Kohberger was shown to be “so severe” the venue couldn’t possibly be impartial.
The defense said one respondent answered they would “burn the courthouse down” if he were not convicted. The same survey, according to the defense, found “much less emotional” responses from people living closer to Boise, where Kohberger’s lawyers suggested the trial be moved.
“The traumatized town of Moscow is understandably filled with deeply held prejudgment opinions of guilt,” defense attorney Elisa Massoth said in a filing this month.
The prosecution has said the case has national and international interest, and that the case has been covered plenty in Boise, so a change of venue would not solve any problem.
Prosecutors argued in a filing this month that the defense “failed to establish that a fair and impartial trial cannot be held in Latah County.”
Moscow Mayor Art Bettge said in a statement last week that, if the case stayed in Latah County, “I firmly believe people would be able to set aside any personal feelings they have … set aside any information they may have read or heard … and make a determination of guilt or not guilty based on the evidence presented in the courtroom and deliberate according to the instructions provided to them.”
The trial is scheduled to start on June 2, 2025, and run until Aug. 29, 2025. Judge John Judge said in June that if the venue changes, the trial date would still hold.
Kohberger is accused of stabbing four University of Idaho students to death in an off-campus house in the early hours of Nov. 13, 2022. Ethan Chapin, 20; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, were all brutally murdered during the break-in.
Kohberger, who was a criminology Ph.D. student at nearby Washington State University at the time of the crime, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary.
A not guilty plea was entered on Kohberger’s behalf. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.
ABC News’ Sasha Pezenik and Julie Scott contributed to this report.
