Briefs

LOCAL & VCU

Chesterfield bodies’ cause of death unknown

The cause of death for two people found dead yesterday in a Chesterfield County apartment is still unknown.

Chesterfield police Lt. Chris Hensley said the deaths are still under investigation and the medical examiner will determine the cause of death. The bodies were discovered yesterday around 2:30 p.m. in an apartment on the 7700 block of Bannockbarn Drive when a friend went to check on them.

Police have not released the identities of the deceased.

Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch

Man’s body buried on his property

A relative of Clent Chavers, a man who has been missing for 15 years, was shocked to learn yesterday that authorities had exhumed what they believe are his remains in a backyard in rural Amelia County.

Friday’s discovery came after Chavers’ widow, Ulisa Mary Chavers, admitted the day before that she buried her husband’s body about 15 years ago outside their former home on West Pridesville Road, authorities said.

Mary Chavers already is accused of dumping another body, that of her boyfriend, Reginal Cody Bowles, into a 33-foot-deep well on his property in Louisa County. Bowles had been missing for at least two years when his body was found in the well last month.

Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch

Virginia Tech reopens Norris Hall section where 30 died

Virginia Tech has reopened the section of the academic building where a student gunman killed 30 people nearly two years ago in the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

The university held a ceremony yesterday to mark the reopening of the west wing of the second floor of Norris Hall. The 4,300-square-foot area has been converted into six new rooms and laboratories and also will house the new Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention.

The roughly $1 million renovation began in the fall and was completed last month. Norris Hall also will house space for the Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, though classes will no longer be taught there.

Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

Town rocked by arrest of Sunday school teacher

Police and residents were shocked when the suspect in the killing of an 8-year-old girl found stuffed into a suitcase turned out to be a woman, the mother of the slain girl’s best friend.

Melissa Huckaby, a Sunday school teacher and granddaughter of a minister, was on suicide watch Saturday at the San Joaquin County Jail, where she was being held without bail on suspicion of kidnapping and killing 8-year-old Sandra Cantu.

Brief by The Associated Press

Officer: Split-second decision to open fire

A U.S. military official says Navy Seals and other officers opened fire on three pirates when a Navy commander made a split-second decision that an American hostage’s life was in danger.

Vice Adm. Bill Gortney also says the pirates made a ransom demand for the release of Capt. Richard Phillips.

Gortney says the pirates threatened throughout the ordeal to kill Phillips. Gortney says the pirates were armed with AK-47s and small-caliber pistols, and were pointing the AK-47s at the captain.

Gortney says the commander of the nearby USS Bainbridge believed Phillips was in “imminent danger” when he ordered sailors to fire at the armed pirates.

Brief by The Associated Press

Moldova court orders poll recount

The Constitutional Court in Moldova has ordered a recount of the country’s parliamentary election results, after days of anti-government protests. The initial count after last Sunday’s election was won by Moldova’s ruling Communists, with almost 50 percent of votes.

Opposition groups have dismissed calls for a recount, saying it is an attempt to mask election fraud.

Brief by BBCnews.com

Rioting follows state of emergency in Thai capital

Thailand’s ousted prime minister called for a revolution Sunday after rioting erupted in Bangkok, with protesters commandeering public buses and swarming triumphantly over military vehicles in unchecked defiance after the government declared a state of emergency.

Bands of red-shirted anti-government protesters roamed areas of Bangkok, with some furiously smashing cars carrying Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his aides and others beating up motorists who hurled insults at them.

Brief by The Associated Press

Sri Lanka military declares truce

Sri Lanka’s government has declared a temporary halt to its offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels in the Northeast. The move, which aims to let civilians leave the conflict zone safely, comes in view of New Years celebrations that start on Monday, the government said.

There has been no immediate response from the Tamil Tigers. The authorities have been under growing international pressure to allow time for tens of thousands of trapped civilians to leave the war zone safely.

Brief by BBCnews.com