Jun 28, 2005

Man: Flesh-eating aliens were chasing me when I caused fatal car crash

"A California man facing life in prison for crashing his car into a UPS truck will not dispute that his actions resulted in the death of the driver when his trial opens Monday in Nevada County Superior Court.
Instead, Scott Krause's defense will argue that the defendant believed he was trying to escape man-eating subterranean beings when he ran into Drew Reynolds' truck on Jan. 6, 2004.
Krause has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to five felony counts, including first-degree murder, carjacking, and burglary, stemming from a string of alleged criminal activities leading up to the fatal highway crash.
In three court-ordered evaluations, the defendant stated he was fleeing subterranean beings he called 'hemadrones' when he carjacked a commercial vehicle near a Nevada City, Calif., gas station and then crashed into Reynolds' service vehicle.
'Everything had to do with his escape from the hemadrones,' said Nevada County District Attorney Michael Ferguson. 'According to the defendant, he wasFkF afraid they were going to put him in cargo and ship him to China to be eaten.'
Calls to public defender Gary Gordon went unanswered.
The evidentiary burden will fall on the defense to prove that Krause, a known methamphetamine addict with a history of drug-related arrests, was suffering from a pre-existing mental condition that either prevented him from understanding the consequences of his actions or knowing the difference between right or wrong.
A psychologist testified in a preliminary hearing that when he examined Krause in 2002, the divorced father of two displayed signs of delusions and paranoid schizophrenia.
He also testified that for at least two years before the incident, Krause was using methamphetamine at least twice a day.
'This "

Ohio Nursing Home Resident Dies After Sunbathing

"Temperature Was In Mid-90s"

POSTED: 12:22 pm EDT June 27, 2005
WATERVILLE, Ohio -- A woman sunbathing for several hours in 95 degree heat at her nursing home was found unconscious and died at a hospital with a temperature of 109 degrees, a coroner's investigator said.
Staff members at the Heartland of Browning nursing home periodically checked on Patricia Matney, 49, before she was found unconscious in the late afternoon, said Steve Kahle of the Lucas County coroner's office.
Matney, who had multiple sclerosis, regularly spent time outdoors at the facility, said Julie Beckert, communications director for owner HCR Manor Care. She was found in a courtyard popular with residents and visitors that is monitored by staff, the company said in a statement.
The coroner's office started an autopsy Monday.
HCR is assisting officials in their investigations, Beckert said.
'Quality care is of paramount concern at Heartland,' the company's statement said.
Matney lived in the 120-bed nursing home near Toledo since 2001. "