THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 2007
NEWS
》 HOMICIDE
3A
Nurse convicted after body parts found
BY DANIELA FLORES ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — A jury convicted a nurse Monday of killing her husband, hacking up his body and stuffing the parts into
three suitcases she tossed into Chesapeake Bay.
M el an i e McGuire, who sobbed as she heard the verdict, was convicted of murder, desecration of a corpse, perjury and a weapons offense.
She was
During the six-week trial, prosecutors said McGuire, 34, organized William McGuire's 2004 murder using her expertise as a nurse so she could begin a new life with her lover, her boss at a fertility clinic.
The Middlesex County jury was
The body parts of William McGuire,39,a computer programmer,were found in matching Kenneth Cole luggage that washed ashore in May 2004 near Norfolk, Va.
acquitted on two counts of hindering prosecution and falsifying evidence. Authorities charged that she wrote anonymous letters in an attempt to thwart investigators.
anty jury was told that two days before her husband was last seen alive, McGuire bought a gun and bullets that matched those found in her husband's body.
The body partsofWilliam McGuire, 39, a
computer programmer, were found in matching Kenneth Cole luggage that washed ashore in May 2004 near Norfolk, Va., nearly 300 miles from the couple's Woodbridge, N.J.
apartment.
The verdict from the jury of nine women and three men came after about 13 hours of deliberations over four days.
McGuire's attorney, Joseph Tacopina, had argued that the petite nurse was physically incapable of killing her 6-foot-3, 210-pound husband.
Assistant Attorney General Patricia Prezioso told jurors McGuire forged a prescription for a powerful sedative, chloral hydrate, using the name of a patient from her clinic April 28, 2004, the day her husband disappeared.
During his closing argument, Tacopina also said it would have been impossible to carry out such a bloody crime in the couple's apartment without neighbors hearing something and without leaving behind physical evidence.
Preziose told jurors that McGuire most likely had an accomplice, but
no one has been named or charged. The prosecutor acknowledged that there were some unanswered questions, but said there was still "overwhelming" evidence to convict the mother of two.
Prosecutors also highlighted Internet searches made from the couple's apartment on topics such as "undetectable poisons" and "ways to kill people."
Tacopina said the defense did not call McGuire to the stand because the jury had heard the key elements of what she had to say when audio recordings made by two men close to her, who were cooperating with authorities, were played in court.
The recordings were made by Dr. Bradley Miller, with whom she was having the affair, and her good friend, James Finn. In the recordings, McGuire repeatedly says she had nothing to do with her husband's death.
KANSAS STATE Freshman found dead after apparent suicide
after apparent suicide MANHATTAN — A 19-year-old Kansas State University freshman was found dead in her residence hall room Friday from an apparent suicide, according to a press release from K-State Media Relations.
Nicole Fowler, freshman, was found at 9:30 a.m. in her room on the first floor of Goodnow Hall.
According to the release, Fowler was in her first semester at K-State.
Heather Reed, assistant dean of student life, said counselors from University Counseling Services and the dean of student life office will be available this week for any student who needs assistance.
Services are pending with Irvin Parkview Funeral Home, according to the release.
Kipp Van Dyke, residence life coordinator at Goodnow Hall, was unavailable for comment.
—Kansas State Collegian
JOURNALISM INDUSTRY
Tribune Co. to cut 250 jobs
BY DAVE CARPENTER ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHICAGO — The Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times disclosed plans Monday to reduce their staffs by as many as a combined 250 jobs, the latest cutbacks in a newspaper industry reeling from a falloff in advertising and circulation.
The actions by Tribune Co.s two largest dailies, which had been expected for months, come on top of earlier cutbacks by both papers.
The Times said it hoped to cut its staff of 2,625 by up to 150 employees, or around 6 percent. The Chicago Tribune said it intends to trim its staff by as many as 100, or 3 percent.
The company will make the
cuts by a mix of closing vacant positions, attrition, buyouts and layoff
"The actions being undertaken at our newspapers reflect fundamental changes going on across the media industry," Tibune Co. spokesman Gary Weitman said. "We cannot still; as revenues have slowed, our newspapers are scaling expenses accordingly."
Tribune said it will redeploy its resources to areas that can best generate growth, as it is now doing with Internet-focused ventures.
The Times said up to 70 jobs could be cut from its news operations, which would reduce the newsroom staff to about 850 people. The Times news operation employed about 1,200 when it was bought by Tribune in 2000.
Times Publisher David Hiller, who took over last October when Jeffrey
Johnson resigned after protesting Tribune's proposed cuts, said the newspaper must continue to change its business model in the face of industrywide challenges.
"It is also crucial we reduce resources, including some of our people, in areas of our core print business where revenue is declining." Hiller said in a statement.
Tribune, the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher, last week reported a first-quarter loss of $15.6 million because of continued declines in classified advertising.
The struggling company, which owns 11 daily newspapers, 23 TV stations and the Chicago Cubs baseball team, accepted an $8.2 billion buyout offer from real estate tycoon Sam Zell earlier this month to become private.
CRIME
Gavin Jackson/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Relatives of the alleged victims react after a jury found convicted sex offender Kenneth Glenn Hinson, who was accused of raping two teen girls in an underground bunker, not guilty of kidnapping, sex crimes and assault with intent to kill, Monday in Darlington, S.C.
Verdict leaves prosecution 'shocked and stunned'
BY MEG KINNARD ASSOCIATED PRESS
DARLINGTON, S.C. — A jury acquitted a convicted sex offender Monday of raping two teenage girls who police say escaped after they were left to die in an underground bunker he had built.
Kenneth Glenn Hinson, 48, appeared to cry after the jury read its verdict, which followed about four hours of deliberations.
"I think the verdict says it all" he said as he was escorted from the courtroom.
Authorities accused Hinson of snatching the 17-year-old girls from their bedroom last year and dragging them one at a time to the underground room, raping them and binding them with duct tape. Prosecutors said Hinson expected the girls to die because the room, under a tool shed, had no air supply.
He was charged with kidnapping, sex crimes and assault with intent to kill.
"We are shocked and stunned. We believed Mr. Hinson was guilty as
charged. We still believe he is guilty as charged," said Attorney General Henry McMaster, who helped prosecute the case.
Hinson testified that the girls had consensual sex with him. He said they made up the story so they would be able to take drugs from the bunker, which he used to store marijuana.
Hinson said he panicked when he saw police cars arrive at his property and hid in nearby woods. He assumed they were after four pounds of marijuana stashed in the bunker, he said.
The two young women were not in the courtroom when Hinson was acquitted. Their mothers and other relatives wept. They declined to comment after the verdict.
Hinson had faced a mandatory life sentence without parole under the state's two-strikes law because of a past conviction for raping a 12-year-old girl in 1991.
Hinson remained in custody on a federal firearms charge because he is accused of having a gun when he was arrested. Convicted felons are not permitted to carry weapons.
THIS WEEK ON CAMPUS
KU ROTARACT
KU Rotaract is a new club on campus interested in personal and community development through community service! This club
opportunity to get involved in the KU and Lawrence communities as well as network with those who are part of the International Rotary organization.
If you are interested or would like more information, please e-mail KUrotaract@hormail.com
YOUR AD HERE
Attention Student Groups:
April 24th, 2007
If your student organization is registered with the Student Involvement and Leadership Ceneter, you may get FREE ADVERTISING here in the Kansan through Student Senate!
Email hurly@ku.edu for more information!
See the Winners!
Tea-Time, Thursday, April 26th 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. in the Kansas Union
2007 "Picture the World"
Photo Contest
Phi Beta Delta Honor Society for International Education
KU HILLEL KC Wizards Game!
Contact Max Stettner 913-375-6844
Wednesday, April 25 7:00 pm at Arrowhead Stadium Limited amount of free tickets available!
funded by:
STUDENT
SENATE
PAID FOR BY KU
Malaysian Students Association at KU (M'SIA KU) proudly presents :
1ST ANNUAL
April 28, 2007 (Saturday)
7.00 P.M.
Alderson Auditorium, Kansas Union
KARAOKG Nite '07
YOU DECIDE - Best Male/Female/Group Awards!
FREE Admission!!!
Pre-registration required by email: msiaku@yahoo
http://www.geocities.com/msiaku
KU COLLEGE REPUBLICANS
Meeting on Tuesday, April 24 7:00 p.m. Parlor Room, KS Union
Speaker:
Kansas Republican Party Chair
Kris Kobach