Manhunt for TV star ramps up in Canada
BUENA PARK, Calif. (AP) — Canadian authorities on Saturday intensified the manhunt for the millionaire reality TV star accused of murdering a former swimsuit model and stuffing her naked, mutilated body in a suitcase.
"We're leaving no stone unturned, but we have to play our cards close to our chest right now," said Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sgt. Duncan Pound.
The search for Ryan Alexander Jenkins, a 32-year-old real estate developer and investor from Calgary, is centered around Vancouver and British Columbia, said Peter Van Loan, Canada's public safety minister.
The Mounted Police are leading the manhunt for Jenkins, who is suspected of strangling Jasmine Fiore and then reporting her missing the evening of Aug. 15 before fleeing.
Jenkins and Fiore met in Las Vegas in March and they married a few weeks later. The couple separated shortly afterward, but had reportedly recently reconciled.
Fiore's body was found in a trash bin in Buena Park, an Orange County city about 20 miles southeast of Los Angeles.
Her teeth had been pulled out and her fingers cut off, apparently to impede her identification. Investigators used the serial numbers on her breast implants to identify her, said Farrah Emami, spokeswoman for the Orange County district attorney's office.
Man is convicted of rape, art theft
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska man who stole a painting of the Virgin Mary to finance an abortion for a teen he raped has been convicted of first-degree sexual assault and felony theft.
Aurelio Vallerillo-Sanchez, 39, of Omaha pleaded no contest to the charges Friday and faces up to 70 years in prison when sentenced in October, Douglas County prosecutor Brenda Beadle said Saturday.
A call to the county public defender representing Vallerillo-Sanchez wasn't answered Saturday.
Beadle said Vallerillo-Sanchez fled to Mexico with the 300-year-old painting worth $100,000 and the pregnant teen in March 2007.
"The plan was that when they got to Mexico, she was to undergo an abortion," she said.
When an abortion wasn't possible, Vallerillo-Sanchez pushed to have the baby given up for adoption, Beadle said: "He wanted to do everything he could to get rid of this baby 'cause it was evidence against him."
The teen returned to Nebraska after giving birth, the prosecutor said.
Priest who stole $1M dies in prison
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport says a Connecticut priest who pleaded guilty to stealing more than $1 million from a Darien parish to support a lavish lifestyle has died.
The diocese says the Rev. Michael Jude Fay died Saturday morning. Fay had prostate cancer and was serving a three-year sentence at Butner Federal Correctional Complex in North Carolina after being convicted in December 2007.
Fay's death came a day after a judge refused to dismiss a suit against the diocese by a former bookkeeper at St. John Roman Catholic Church. Bethany D'Erario says she was harassed for exposing Fay's crimes.
Fay set up secret bank accounts and spent the money on travel, expensive gifts and a Florida condominium.
U.S. investigating who killed grizzly
GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says it is offering a reward for information leading to the conviction of whoever illegally shot one of Montana's largest grizzly bears.
The carcass of the bear called Maximus because he stood 71/2 feet tall and weighed about 800 pounds was found Aug. 12 on a ranch in northern Montana. The bear had been dead about a month.
Special Agent Brian Lakes says he didn't know the exact size of the reward but it would be "substantial."
Lakes says he is also investigating two other illegal shootings of grizzly bears.