Identity of “baby Jane Doe” discovered
On June 25, the body of a young girl was discovered in Boston Harbor’s Deer Island. She had been stuffed into a trash bag after being murdered and left there. Since no one stepped forward to identify her, she was a so-called Jane Doe. On account of her age, law enforcement referred to the child as “baby doe” over social media. Last Friday, Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo formally announced the girl’s identity. Her name was Bella Bond, and she was two years old when she was murdered. Her mother Rachelle Bond and her mother’s boyfriend Michael Patrick McCarthy were taken into custody. Michael Bond has been charged with Bella’s murder and his wife as an accessory to murder. A computer generated image of what Bella would have looked like while alive was circulated around the United States, but the clothing left on her body contained pollen from the Boston area, so police were confident that she was a local child. The exact cause of death has not been released, but another press event is scheduled for this week.
Friend of Charleston Shooter Charged with Lying and Concealment
Joey Meek was a close friend of Dylann Roof, the culprit of the June 17 massacre at the Historical Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Meek allegedly lied to investigators after the incident and concealed information about the attack. Once Meek’s indictment was made public, it came to light that during Roof’s investigation, Meek claimed that he “did not know specifics of Roof’s plan to shoot individuals on a Wednesday during Bible study at an A.M.E. church.” The indictment states that “Meek’s statements and representations denying such specifics were false, fictitious and fraudulent when made.” Meek pleaded not guilty to the charges, but faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted for lying to authorities and another three years in prison and an additional $250,000 fine for concealing knowledge regarding Roof’s crime.
Chile experiences 8.3 magnitude earthquake
The Chilean town of Coquimo was the epicenter of this year’s strongest earthquake to date. The 8.3 magnitude quake occurred just before 8 p.m. local time last Thursday. One million people were forced to relocate due to resulting tsunami warnings, tens of thousands are without power, hundreds are living in temporary shelters and 12 deaths have been confirmed. The Chilean government has declared a state of emergency. At least 500 homes have been devastated. Small tsunami waves have occurred along U.S. coasts, with Hawaii experiencing a one meter high wave later on Thursday. Japan also saw some taller waves on Friday morning. The highest tsunamis reported aside from Chile are from French Polynesia, which were four and a half feet tall.
Migrants at Hungary-Serbia border tear gassed
Tensions burst along the Hungary-Serbia border near Roszke, Hungary last Wednesday and ceased by evening. In the days leading up to the incident, standoffs occurred between Syrian refugees and the Hungarian police. Hungarian riot police used tear gas and water cannons on the refugees when some of the migrants began throwing water bottles and rocks to break through the border’s fences. Hungary announced that it is closed to migrants and will continue to construct a wall and fence-like structure to bar refugees from entering. Reports claim that hundreds of refugees are walking along that border to cross into Croatia from Serbia with hopes of traveling north into Europe’s interior. Croatia, which is already overwhelmed with incoming Syrians and is recovering from conflicts with Yugoslavia in 1995, cannot accept more migrants. Croatia has thus sent the refugees back to the Hungarian border in what the Prime Minister, Zoran Milanovic calls a plan to “force” Hungary to take back the refugees.
