A Pennsylvania woman will spend the next 18 months behind bars after being convicted of illegally giving her daughter abortion pills.
Jennifer Whalen of Washingtonville, 39, pleaded guilty last month to purchasing the drugs from an online site based in Europe. The woman’s 16-year-old daughter became pregnant in 2012 and didn’t want to keep the baby so the two found the drugs online.
The plot was exposed after the daughter experienced abdominal cramping and bleeding. She was rushed to Geisinger Medical Center where the doctors found an “incomplete abortion and urinary tract infaction.”
The case took over a year to bring charges because of the unique situation. Whalen was initially charged with unlawfully dispensing medicine, endangering the welfare of a child, simple assault and medical consultation. She had been free on bond prior to sentencing but will serve the prison term and community service upon release.
Diane Gramley of the American Family Association noted that Pennsylvania has a “safe haven” law where they could have left the baby at the hospital without any reprisal from the state.
A bill that would have mandated Pennsylvania schools display the phrase “In God We Trust” within their buildings has been weakened in an attempt to get it passed.
Representative Rick Saccone of Allegheny County has a history of introducing laws to acknowledge God’s role in the history of America. Saccone was behind the 2012 bill that declared the 2012 “The Year of the Bible” in the state.
Saccone introduced the “National Motto Display Act” to recognize the 150th anniversary of the phrase being placed on American currency by once Pennsylvania governor James Pollock. Pollack introduced the phrase during his time as the director of the United States Mint in Philadelphia.
“Our youth need to hear the story of our heritage and learn from positive role models in a time of decaying values,” Saccone stated. “The story of our national motto is a positive story and one that is uniquely Pennsylvanian.”
The bill was weakened by changing the mandate to post the phrase to an recommendation that schools may post the mandate at their option. The change unanimously passed the state House.
The Pennsylvania ACLU said that if the bill becomes law, schools will be placed as risk for lawsuits if they post the phrase.
A Pennsylvania woman will spend the rest of her life in prison after being sentenced in connection to the killing of her newborn child.
Amanda Hein, 26, had gone to a bar in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania last August to watch a pay-per-view wrestling event with three men. She went into labor and gave birth during the event in the women’s bathroom. She then wrapped the newborn in a plastic bag, placed it in the toilet’s tank, went outside for a cigarette and then returned to watch the wrestling event.
The baby was found the next day when the cleaning crew could not flush the toilet. The county medical examiner says the child was born alive and suffocated in the plastic bag.
She had pleaded guilty to murder as part of a plea deal last month but it was up to a jury to decide if it was pre-meditated first-degree murder or third-degree murder. The jury went with first-degree which called for a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Hein’s defense attorneys claimed that her actions were spur-of-the-moment out of shock because she did not know she was pregnant.
A Pennsylvania woman who wrapped her newborn in a piece of plastic and then dumped him in a toilet at a sports bar has pleaded guilty to a general charge of murder.
The plea of 27-year-old Amanda Hein of Allentown entered the plea during a pre-trial hearing. The general plea means that a jury will decide in a trial next month if the charge should be first degree murder, which would carry a life prison term, or third degree murder which would jail her for 20 to 40 years.
Hein acknowledged that she had been taking medication for severe depression at the time of the killing but that she was aware what she was doing at the time.
The body of the child was found in a toilet at Starters Pub at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in August and the coroner determined the boy was alive when he was placed in the plastic and the toilet.
Prosecutors had initially planned to seek the death penalty but decided her mental health issues made it very unlikely that she would be sentenced to death.
A Pennsylvania couple that believes in divine healing is facing 20 years in prison today after pleading no contest to a third-degree murder charge after a second child died from pneumonia.
Herbert and Catherine Schaible are being sentenced today for the death of their 8-month-old son Brandon.
The couple had been on probation for ten years after the death of another child due to pneumonia. A part of the probation for the conviction on involuntary manslaughter was an order that they seek medical attention for any one of their children who fall ill in spite of their religious faith.
The Schaibles belong to a small Pentecostal church in Philadelphia where the church’s pastor said the deaths of the child were due to a spiritual lack in the couple’s lives. The pastor said none of the church’s families will seek medical care.
Lawyers for the couple say that their religious beliefs will be prominently brought up at the sentencing.
Although flu season is usually at its worst in January or February, health officials in Pennsylvania report flu outbreaks in at least half of the regions of the state.
There have been nearly 1,200 cases of influenza between September 29 and December 21 with the worst hit areas in western Pennsylvania according to the State Health Department.
Last year’s flu season put 381,000 people in the hospital nationwide, which is the most since
2005 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
A Salvation Army toy outreach in Pittsburgh had to be shut down when the crowd grew so unruly police had to be dispatched to the scene.
People who had been waiting outside a Salvation Army on North Avenue forced their way into the building when the doors opened and there were not enough staff in the building to control the crowds. The problem appeared to be a group of people who refused to wait in line and tried to jump in front of everyone else.
Police forced everyone to leave.
The Salvation Army recruited more volunteers and was able to hold the toy drive the following day.
A Salvation Army spokeswoman told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that many people showed up before their designated pick up times which contributed to the overcrowding.
A Pennsylvania teenager is behind bars charged with a brutal attack on a retired nun.
Andrew Bullock, 18, attacked the nun outside of St. Titus Church near Pittsburgh. He reportedly asked the nun if she needed help. When she declined, he grabbed her by the neck, choked her and punched her.
The nun is hospitalized with severe injuries including a broken jaw. She communicated information about the details of her attack by writing them down for police before she was taken into surgery.
“The Sisters of St. Joseph are deeply saddened and heartbroken by the assault of one of our Sisters,” a statement from the order said. “As we offer continued prayers of healing for our Sister, we also pray for the young man who has been arrested in the assault.”
Bullock is held on $50,000 bond for charges including aggravated assault. Bullock confessed to the attack during questioning by police.
A pair of Pennsylvania newlyweds decided that the way to celebrate their three-week wedding anniversary was to commit murder.
Officials say the case graphically brings home the dangers of meeting a stranger from the internet.
Sunbury police said that Elytte Barbour and his wife Miranda had been using the website Craigslist to lure in men through a “business” where Miranda would rent herself out as a “companion” for as much as $850 a night. The couple said they were searching for someone that would fit their desire to kill someone.
They found that person in 42-year-old Troy LaFerrara.
Barbour reportedly told police that after receiving contact from LaFerrara they arranged to meet him at a mall. When the victim sat in the passenger seat of Miranda’s Honda CRV, her husband appeared from the back seat and held down LaFerrara while his wife stabbed him to death.
The body was dumped in an alley in Sunbury, PA.
The two are being held in separate county prisons facing charges of criminal homicide. They are being held without bail.
Police officials said that if you are going to do business through an internet site that it’s best to meet someone in a visible public place surrounded by others.
At least six people are confirmed dead after a Sunday outbreak of tornadoes across the Midwest.
The town of Washington, Illinois was devastated by a massive tornado that tore an 1/8th mile wide track through the entire town. Mayor Gary Manier said that up to 500 homes have been damaged or destroyed and that some neighborhoods are completely destroyed.
“How people survived is beyond me,” Manier said.
The tornadic storms are considered unusual for mid-November. Damaging winds and tornadoes were reported in 12 states: Michigan, Iowa, Illnois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York.
The storms moved so fast at times that weather forecasters were warning people to see shelter even before they could see a change in the weather.
The storm threatened the Chicago area forcing the game between the NFL’s Chicago Bears and Baltimore Ravens to be delayed for two hours as teams and spectators huddled under the stadium.