Massachusetts mother falls about 75 feet to her death while hiking with her children at Purgatory Chasm
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(TOPSFIELD, Mass.) — A 49-year-old mother of four died on Wednesday after she fell about 50 to 75 feet from a cliff while hiking at Purgatory Chasm in Massachusetts.
The woman, who was from Topsfield, Massachusetts, was hiking at the Purgatory Chasm State Reservation in Sutton just before 2 p.m. when the incident took place, according to local police. She was hiking with three of her children and other family members when she fell, authorities said.
“There were multiple medical professionals in the area hiking the chasm at the same time, and were able to provide medical attention right away,” Sutton police said. “However, she had succumbed to the injuries sustained during the fall, and was pronounced deceased a short time later.”
The chasm, a popular hiking destination about 20 minutes south of Worcester, is closed in the winter due to slippery conditions. However, the weather was warm and dry on Wednesday.
The fall remains under investigation, but appears to be accidental, police said.
The Sutton Fire Department, Massachusetts State Police, Northbridge Police Department, LifeStar and others were involved in the rescue efforts, according to Sutton police.
“There are trails above the chasm you can go along, [and] dangerous overhangs if you’re going to the edge to look down,” hiker Andy Spears told Boston ABC affiliate WCVB. “It’s really sad that it had to happen at a place like this.”
The woman was not identified, out of respect to the family, according to Sutton police.
“Lastly, the Sutton Police Department would like to extend our condolences to the family during this very difficult time,” the department said.
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(NEW YORK) — Sean “Diddy” Combs was the Michael Jordan of drug-fueled sex parties — at least, according to himself.
That revelation was included in another day of testimony from Combs’ ex-girlfriend, who alleges she was forced to participate in degrading sex with male prostitutes for Combs’ voyeuristic gratification.
Testifying under the pseudonym “Jane,” the ex-girlfriend has spent four days walking a federal jury in Manhattan through a life that was funded by Combs and centered on his sexual appetites. She said she spent so much time participating in sexual encounters that Combs compared her, himself and a male escort to well-known sports stars.
A male escort they frequently hired was, to Combs, “Shaquille O’Neal.” Jane was compared and labeled “Kobe Bryant.” Combs considered himself to be “Jordan,” Jane testified.
The athletic comparisons capped off the 24th day of the rap mogul’s sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial, as defense attorneys tried to cast doubt on Jane’s claims that she was coerced to participate in the sex parties. Jane is a critical part of the authorities’ case against the onetime cultural icon, who has been locked up since his arrest last September.
Prosecutors have argued that Combs used his wealth and influence to pressure women like Jane into sex, then used his money and violence to keep them quiet to protect his reputation. Combs has pleaded not guilty and claims he has never coerced anyone into sex.
After three days of testimony about the trauma she said she endured during her relationship with Combs, Jane was challenged during a full court session Tuesday by Combs’ defense team. They repeatedly tried to highlight Jane’s apparently loving messages sent to Combs and her apparent willingness to engage in his sexual fantasies.
“I wish you were here. We can play our videos on tv and lock each other in the room all day,” Jane texted Combs. “I never c— so hard like that in my life.”
The cross examination took on a sharper tone as defense attorney Teny Geragos argued the lavish gifts undercut Jane’s allegations of trauma, coercion and force.
“No, I only got trauma,” Jane fired at Geragos when asked about Combs’ giving another girlfriend a Chanel handbag.
When Geragos asked about another luxury handbag Bottega Veneta, Jane fired at the attorney, “I’m sure you have one,”
“How much do Bottega bags run?” Geragos asked Jane.
Jane snapped: “How much does my body cost?”
The testimony is set to resume on Wednesday afternoon with additional questioning by Combs’ lawyers. Defense attorneys told the judge overseeing the case that they would likely conclude their questions for Jane on Thursday.
Jane said she believed Combs was a ‘cuckold’
Jane told jurors that she was regularly jealous of Combs for spending more quality time with other women. She said she believes Combs was “polyamorous.”
“What was hard for me was the imbalance in treatment,” Jane said. “I didn’t sign up to date a man who was in a public relationship.”
Though she said she was frustrated that the majority of her time with Combs was dominated by prolonged sexual encounters with other men that Combs observed, Jane told jurors that she sought to understand why Combs enjoyed watching her have sex with other men.
Jane explained to the jury, “I was trying to deep-dive on all the reasons why they drew such pleasure watching their woman with other men.”
She told the jury she came upon the word “cuck,” which she described as a “man who is in a relationship and is turned on by watching a woman have sex with another man.”
Geragos asked, “What did that word mean to you?”
Jane answered, “I was just like this is spot on.”
The testimony about Combs’ sexual desires comes as defense attorneys seek to highlight what they argue is Jane’s willingness to participate in sex acts with Combs by learning what he liked sexually, potentially undercutting the prosecution’s claim that she was coerced into the drug-fueled encounters she called “hotel nights.”
Jane also testified that there were parts of the orgies she enjoyed and that the evenings satisfied Combs’ sexual desires.
“I loved when we would make love and said he wanted me,” Jane said. “He would say things like he never wanted me to leave and so many nice, loving things.”
Jane distances Combs’ employees from alleged sex trafficking
Defense attorney Geragos peppered her cross examination with questions about the role of Combs’ employees during their three-year relationship, seemingly trying to distance the rap mogul’s assistants and security from the alleged illegal acts at the center of the prosecution’s case.
“It was important that none of his employees knew about the entertainers from these nights?” Geragos asked about the male escorts Combs hired for “hotel nights.”
“Right,” Jane said, emphasizing how Combs began hosting the sex parties in private residences insead of hotel rooms to ensure the events would be secretive.
Despite testifying that Combs’ chief of staff Kristina Khorram functioned as Combs’ “right brain” and was generally apprised of his activities, Jane told the jury that Combs tried to keep her out of the process for booking and paying escorts for the sexual romps.
“Did [Khorram] have any knowledge that escorts were joining the hotels?” Geragos asked.
“I don’t think so,” Jane answered.
By distancing Combs’ employees from the rap mogul’s alleged crimes, the testimony could help defense attorneys as they try to cast doubt on the prosecutors’ allegation that Combs used his business empire to carry out his crimes. To convict Combs on racketeering conspiracy, jurors would need to find that Combs relied on others, like his security guards or assistants, to commit at least two related crimes.
(NEW YORK) — Longtime gangster Ralph DeLeo, once the purported “street boss” of the Colombo crime family, plotted to “murder no fewer than three people who played roles in his most recent criminal conviction,” federal prosecutors alleged in a new court filing.
DeLeo, 82, was released from prison a year ago under supervised release after he served time for racketeering.
He was arrested earlier this month. It was not clear why until the U.S. Attorney’s office in Boston said in a court filing that DeLeo was “actively planning to kill two current and one former federal official, all of whom were involved in the federal criminal case resulting in DeLeo’s 2012 conviction.”
According to the court filing, DeLeo was asking around for “personal identifying information, including home addresses and names of immediate family members, relating to the federal officials” which he referred to as his “retribution.”
Federal agents said they recovered “hard copy packets” of personal information for the individuals along with “a burglary kit, marijuana, vials of steroids, and a handwritten note regarding silicone masks.”
The burglary kit contained a pry-bar, mini crowbar, bolt cutters, and lock-picking tools, prosecutors said.
The FBI said DeLeo was allegedly “actively communicating with known felons,” including codefendants from the racketeering case that put him in prison.
DeLeo has a “long and violent criminal history” that federal prosecutors said began in the 1970s as an associate of the Patriarca family in Providence.
Prosecutors asked for his detention, arguing he is a danger.
“DeLeo’s criminal history, which includes a conviction for murder, proves that he is more than capable of acting on his threats,” prosecutors said. “DeLeo has been fixated on seeking revenge for years.”
Extensive fire damage to the Pennsylvania Governor’s Mansion and Gov. Josh Shapiro’s residence / Matthew Hatcher/Getty Images
(HARRISBURG, Pa.) — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wants Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate the arson attack on Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s residence as a possible antisemitic hate crime.
“While the local district attorney has not yet filed hate-crime charges, he acknowledged that Governor Shapiro’s religion appears to have factored into the suspect’s decisions,” Schumer wrote in a letter to Bondi on Thursday. “Our federal authorities must bring the full weight of our civil-rights laws to bear in examining this matter. No person or public official should be targeted because of their faith, and no community should wonder whether such acts will be met with silence.”
“I appreciate your strong condemnation of the attack and urge you to ensure that the federal government does everything in its power to pursue justice and uphold the fundamental values of religious freedom and public safety,” Schumer added. “I look forward to your response and to the Justice Department’s continued vigilance in the face of antisemitic violence.”
The fire at the governor’s residence was reported at about 2 a.m. ET Sunday and the family was safely evacuated. The attack occurred hours after the Shapiro family hosted more than two dozen people for the first night of Passover.
Investigators have not released a motive, but search warrants provide the most direct indication of why suspect Cody Balmer allegedly hopped a fence at the governor’s mansion, broke windows and hurled inside Molotov cocktails police said he made from beer bottles and gasoline.
Balmer, 38, called 911 less than an hour after the attack, identified himself and told the call-taker that he will not take part in Shapiro’s plans “for what he wants to do to the Palestinian people,” a search warrant said. Balmer added that Shapiro needed to “stop having my friends killed.”
“Our people have been put through too much by that monster,” Balmer said, according to the document.
After turning himself in, Balmer allegedly told police he would have attacked Shapiro with a hammer if he happened upon the governor inside the residence, according to court documents.
Balmer faces eight criminal charges, including attempted murder, terrorism and aggravated arson. Prosecutors at this time have not invoked a hate crime law, which in Pennsylvania is known as ethnic intimidation.
Attorney General Pam Bondi strongly condemned the attack in remarks at the Department of Justice on Wednesday, but she declined to label the act “domestic terrorism” or commit to opening a separate federal case against the suspect.
“It is absolutely horrific what happened to him,” Bondi said. “We have been praying for Josh, for his family. Those photos, it was horrible. I firmly believe that they wanted to kill him. … We are working with state authorities to do — it’s now a pending investigation — anything we can to help convict the person that did this and keep them behind bars as long as possible.”
Bondi did not answer a direct question from a reporter about whether she would label the action “domestic terrorism,” as she has repeatedly described the wave of attacks carried out on Teslas and dealerships around the country in recent months.
“Prosecutors will ultimately determine what motivated this,” Shapiro told reporters at the opening of a new Hershey’s Chocolate processing facility in Hershey, Pennsylvania. “The district attorney and the Department of Justice can comment on that further.”
When asked by a reporter if he wants hate crime charges filed, Shapiro said that’s a decision for the district attorney and the Department of Justice.
