2024 Wheel of Horrors Thread (Earthquakes, Train Crashes and more...)

[China]

Son of top Hollywood agent in custody after woman’s torso found in dumpster

 

The 35-year-old son of a Hollywood talent agent whose clients included Dolly Parton, George Clooney and a British prince, has been taken into custody in Los Angeles after a bloody torso authorities say probably belongs to his wife was discovered in a strip-mall dumpster.

 

Sam Haskell, who was booked on suspicion of murder on Wednesday, is also suspected of killing his wife’s parents who are missing, detectives have said.

 

Capt Scot Williams of the LAPD’s robbery-homicide division said the torso discovered in an Encino mall, five miles from Haskell’s home, was assumed to be Haskell’s wife, Mei Haskell.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Iceland evacuates town and raises aviation alert as concerns rise a volcano may erupt

 

Residents of a fishing town in southwestern Iceland left their homes Saturday after increasing concern about a potential volcanic eruption caused civil defense authorities to declare a state of emergency in the region.

 

Police decided to evacuate Grindavik after recent seismic activity in the area moved south toward the town and monitoring indicated that a corridor of magma, or semi-molten rock, now extends under the community, Iceland’s Meteorological Office said. The town of 3,400 is on the Reykjanes Peninsula, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) southwest of the capital, Reykjavik.

 

“At this stage, it is not possible to determine exactly whether and where magma might reach the surface,” the Meteorological Office said.

 

Authorities also raised their aviation alert to orange, indicating an increased risk of a volcanic eruption. Volcanic eruptions pose a serious hazard to aviation because they can spew highly abrasive ash high into the atmosphere, where it can cause jet engines to fail, damage flight control systems and reduce visibility.

 

A major eruption in Iceland in 2010 caused widespread disruption to air travel between Europe and North America, costing airlines an estimated $3 billion as they canceled more than 100,000 flights.

 

The evacuation comes after the region was shaken by hundreds of small earthquakes every day for more than two weeks as scientists monitor a buildup of magma some 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) underground.

 

Concern about a possible eruption increased in the early hours of Thursday when a magnitude 4.8 earthquake hit the area, forcing the internationally known Blue Lagoon geothermal resort to close temporarily.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

On 11/10/2023 at 10:24 PM, China said:

Son of top Hollywood agent in custody after woman’s torso found in dumpster

 

The 35-year-old son of a Hollywood talent agent whose clients included Dolly Parton, George Clooney and a British prince, has been taken into custody in Los Angeles after a bloody torso authorities say probably belongs to his wife was discovered in a strip-mall dumpster.

 

Sam Haskell, who was booked on suspicion of murder on Wednesday, is also suspected of killing his wife’s parents who are missing, detectives have said.

 

Capt Scot Williams of the LAPD’s robbery-homicide division said the torso discovered in an Encino mall, five miles from Haskell’s home, was assumed to be Haskell’s wife, Mei Haskell.

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

Workers Say Murder Suspect Samuel Haskell Hired Them to Dump Body Parts

 

The son of an ex-Hollywood agent—charged with a woman’s murder after her dismembered torso was found in a dumpster Wednesday—apparently hired a group of workers to haul her body parts in trash bags from his Los Angeles area home.

 

“I started seeing body parts, a belly button,” one of the day laborers told NBC Los Angeles. “I was astonished. Of course, I felt bad. We had been tricked.”

 

The workers told the local TV station that the alleged killer, 35-year-old Samuel Haskell Jr., paid them $500 to remove three large trash bags from his house in Tarzana—where police say Haskell lived with his wife, Mei, who is believed to be his victim, and her parents, Gaoshan Li, 72, and YanXiang Wang, 64, who are also missing.

 

When Haskell enlisted the crew on Tuesday, he told them the bags were filled with rocks; once they lifted the items, however, they said it seemed like meat was inside the 50-pound bags, which they described as soft and soggy.

 

“When we picked up the bags, we could tell they weren’t rocks,” the worker, who asked to remain anonymous, said in Spanish.

 

Concerned that something wasn’t right about the scrap removal, the men pulled their truck over about a block away from the Haskell residence and peered inside the bags.

 

They returned to Haskell’s home to dump the bags in the driveway and return the money, NBC reported, adding that, “The worker said they told Haskell they didn’t want to be involved, and Haskell tried to pass the body parts off as Halloween props.”

 

“God was watching over us,” the hired hand said, adding that the men feared for their lives.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[TradeTheBeal!]

Say a little prayer for Iceland.

 

 

[China]

Lion causes terror as it prowls the streets freely after escaping from circus

 

A lion prowling freely through the streets of a town near Rome caused terror among residents after escaping from the circus.

 

Shocking footage shared of the lion on social media showed him roaming round the streets of the small town, which has a population of just over 40,000 people. Residents were ordered to stay inside their homes as authorities tried to find the beast.

 

 

After hours of chasing the lion was sedated at about 10pm local time. Grando confirmed the news on Facebook, writing: "Important notice. The lion was sedated and captured. Now it will be taken over by the circus staff. Thank you State Police, Carabinieri, Firefighters, Provincial Police, ASL and all the volunteers who served during these hours of great learning.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Xameil]

[China]

Colorado hiker missing since August found dead, his dog found alive next to his body

 

A hiker missing since August has been found dead in Colorado with his dog still alive next to his body, authorities said.

 

The body of 71-year-old Rich Moore of Pagosa Springs, who had been missing since Aug. 19, was found on Oct. 30, according to a Facebook post last week by Taos Search and Rescue. Moore's dog was found alive by his side.

 

The Denver Gazette, citing the Archuleta County Sheriff's Office, reported Moore and his dog had gone missing after planning to summit Blackhead Peak, which is about 20 miles east of Pagosa Springs.

 

The sheriff's office said that Moore's body was found on Oct. 30 by a hunter in the Lower Blanco drainage basin, which is in a valley southeast of Blackhead Peak's summit, the Gazette reported. His white Jack Russell terrier, Finney, was next to the body, the sheriff's office said.

 

On Oct. 31, members of the sheriff's office and a search and rescue team were flown into the area to locate and recover Moore's body, the Gazette reported, citing the sheriff's office. Finney was transported to a veterinary hospital for treatment and has since been reunited with her family, officials said.

 

This marks at least the third time a dog has been found alive next to a hiker's body since last year. In May 2022, a Labrador was found lying next to the body of a 74-year-old Arizona man who had died during a hike.

 

The month before that, a missing 29-year-old hiker was found dead in Los Angeles' Griffith Park with his dog by his side. Family members said it appeared the dog hadn't left his side for two weeks.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[tshile]

 Virginia now has a wildfire problem. So that’s awesome... 
 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/quaker-run-fire-is-40-percent-contained-as-of-friday/ar-AA1jJaci
 

[China]

 

[China]

Ex-security guard accused of having sex with corpse at Phoenix hospital morgue

 

A now-former Banner Health security guard is accused of having sex with a woman’s corpse last month at a Phoenix hospital. Officials confirmed 46-year-old Randall Bird was arrested on Tuesday.

 

On Oct. 24, Phoenix police were called to Banner University Medical Center Phoenix to investigate the crimes. Investigators say Bird worked as a security guard for the hospital. According to police, security guards are in charge of of transporting dead bodies to the morgue and placing them inside a freezer. However, guards aren’t supposed to open the body bags, only place them in the freezer shelves.

 

Video surveillance showed the 79-year-old victim’s body arrived at the morgue on Oct. 22, when Bird was in charge of transporting her to the morgue, police said. Court documents say two witnesses arrived at the morgue but found the doors locked from the inside, which was unusual. A light could be seen on the inside of the freezer, and the freezer door was cracked open. The two witnesses reportedly saw Bird inside the freezer, where he was “sweating profusely” and “acting very nervous.” Court paperwork states Bird had removed his duty belt, his zipper was open and his uniform looked “messy.” Investigators say the victim’s body bag was unzipped and she was facing down. Bird’s belt was also on top of the gurney, where the victim’s body was.

 

Authorities say as the witnesses walked into the morgue, Bird immediately tried covering the victim’s body. He then claimed that he had a medical episode and fainted, and grabbed the victim’s body as he fell, court paperwork states. Bird told the witnesses the body bag then tore open and the zipper broke, police said. However, the witnesses disputed this claim to police, saying the bag and zipper weren’t broken. The two then reported Bird to their supervisor.

 

On Oct. 25, police interviewed Bird, who claimed he had a medical episode and couldn’t remember what happened, investigators said. Crime scene investigators collected evidence from the victim and Bird, and his DNA was found on the victim.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

In related news...

 

Hospital worker who had sex with more than 100 corpses over 15 years went undetected due to serious 'failures'

 

An electrician who had sex with more than 100 corpses over a 15-year period was able to do so without being detected due to serious failures of "management, governance, regulation and processes, and a persistent lack of curiosity," a new 300-plus page inquiry report found.

 

David Fuller, who was later convicted of murder, finally had his necrophilia spree uncovered in 2020 when police used DNA to tie him to the 1987 slayings of two women. During the investigation, they also discovered millions of images of sexual abuse in his home. These images included videos of him having sex with the dead bodies of women and girls in the mortuaries at two hospitals where he worked in southeast England.

 

"The offenses that David Fuller committed were truly shocking," the British government-ordered report said. "However, the failures of management, governance, regulation and processes, and a persistent lack of curiosity, all contributed to the creation of the environment in which he was able to offend.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Lawyer Suspended for Tossing Feces-Filled Pringles Can

 

The Supreme Court of Ohio today suspended a Noble County criminal defense attorney for one year, with six months stayed, for throwing a Pringles potato chip can filled with his feces into the parking lot of the county’s crime-victim advocacy center.

 

In a divided per curiam opinion, the Supreme Court found Jack A. Blakeslee engaged in conduct that adversely reflects on his fitness to practice law. Blakeslee claimed he was not targeting anyone with his antics but had a habit of placing his waste in Pringles cans and randomly throwing them from his car as he traveled down the road.

 

The Court found that there was clear and convincing evidence that “he chose the Haven of Hope parking lot as his drop zone” to get a thrill from pranking victim advocates whom he admittedly had known for years and whom he would most likely be seeing in court 15 minutes later.

 

The Board of Professional Conduct recommended that the Court publicly reprimand Blakeslee. The opinion noted the primary purpose of attorney discipline is not to punish the offender but to protect the public. The Court found a greater sanction was needed to protect the public.

 

“However, the evidence in this case shows that despite societal standards of cleanliness and decorum, Blakeslee failed to control his own bizarre impulses to place feces-filled cans out in public for unsuspecting people to find. His aberrant conduct has adversely reflected on his own fitness to practice law and brought discredit to the profession through significant media attention,” the Court stated.

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

Why not disbar him?  Lawyers protecting their own.

[China]

Smart Toilet Bursts into Flames as Someone Is Using It

 

A Chinese man barely managed to get off his smart toilet with his bum intact after smoke started coming out of the toilet bowl and the whole thing burst into flames.

 

The Yangtze Evening News newspaper recently reported the story of a man from Xiamen, Fujian Province, who recorded his smart toilet burning after a suspected short-circuit. The incident occurred on November 10, while the man was using the toilet. At first, there was the smell of smoke, then plumes of white smoke started billowing from the toilet bowl, and finally, just as the man got up from the toilet, the smart toilet burst into flames. Photos taken by the shocked man show that he didn’t even have time to put his shorts on before the toilet started burning.

 

https://www.odditycentral.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/burning-toilet.jpg

 

Click on the link for the full story

 

 

[Jabbyrwock]

2 hours ago, China said:

Smart Toilet Bursts into Flames as Someone Is Using It

[China]

7.6 magnitude earthquake strikes off the southern Philippines and a tsunami warning is issued

 

A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 struck Saturday night off the coast of the southern Philippine island of Mindanao and Philippine authorities issued a tsunami warning.

 

The quake struck at 10:37 p.m. at a depth of 32 kilometers (20 miles), according to the U.S. Geological Survey. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

 

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said based on the magnitude and location, it expected tsunami waves to hit the southern Philippines and parts of Indonesia, Palau and Malaysia.

 

Teresito Bacolcol, the head of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, told The Associated Press his agency advised residents along the coast of southern Surigao del Sur and Davao Oriental provinces to evacuate immediately to higher ground or move further inland.

 

Owners of boats in harbors, estuaries or shallow coastal waters off the two provinces should secure their boats and move away from the waterfront, the quake agency said in its tsunami warning. Boats already at sea should stay offshore in deep waters until further advised, it said.

 

Based on the quake's magnitude, Bacolcol said a 1-meter (3.2-foot) tsunami may hit but the wave could be higher in enclosed coves, bays and straits.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[LD0506]

[LD0506]

[China]

‘Host clubs’ in Tokyo force women into sex work to pay off huge debts

 

Yuko’s 24-year-old daughter thought she had found the ideal partner when she matched with a man on a dating app three years ago. They were around the same age and both at university, where he was studying medicine.

 

The “match”, though, was the beginning of a nightmare that saw the young woman rack up debts of millions of yen at host clubs – money that she is paying back by dropping out of university and working in Japan’s commercial sex industry.

 

The handsome young medical student was, in fact, a host at a club in Kabukichō, a Tokyo neighbourhood known for its bars and restaurants, giant Godzilla statue and LGBTQ+ district, but also for its seedy underbelly.

 

“He pretended he was working as a host to save money to pursue his dreams, and my daughter fell for him,” said Yuko, who spoke to the Observer on condition that her and her daughter’s real names not be published.

 

The young woman is not alone. The post-pandemic rise of “malicious” host clubs, as Japan’s media has dubbed them, has triggered debates in parliament and calls for a crackdown on the multibillion-yen host club industry.

 

Modelled on the hostess bars that came before them, host clubs offer women a place to drink expensive champagne and chat and flirt with young men hired for their looks and conversational ability. Sex is not on the menu, but it is not unusual for hosts and their customers to meet privately.

 

Hidemori Gen, who runs a drop-in centre in Kabukichō, has seen a dramatic rise in women who have been forced into sex work to pay their host club tabs. He has had 300 consultations in the last five months alone, mostly from parents who are too embarrassed to talk to friends and family, and know the police won’t act because no crime has been committed.

 

“We are talking about intelligent women with promising futures who become entrapped,” said Gen, 67, the founder of Nippon Kakekomidera [Japan refuge temple], a nonprofit that has been helping troubled youths in the neighbourhood since 2012. “Host clubs operate like cults. It’s a vicious business model that is no different from human trafficking. Host clubs are not selling champagne – they’re selling women’s bodies.”

 

Click on the link for the full article

[TradeTheBeal!]

Big Monday in Reykjavik.

 

 

[China]

Man arrested after being found passed out in parking lot with dead hit-and-run victim in car, police say

 

Police said they believe the vehicle struck the pedestrian so severely that the pedestrian was thrown into the car's passenger seat.
 

A man was detained Saturday night after White Settlement Police found him in a car with a dead person that they believe was a hit-and-run victim he struck in Dallas earlier in the evening.

 

According to the release, White Settlement police initially responded to a welfare check at a Jack in the Box parking lot in the 8700 block of West Freeway near I-30. They said they got a call at 11:13 p.m. about a driver slumped over the steering wheel of a Kia Forte with "extensive front-end, hood and windshield damage."

 

 

An officer found the vehicle and noticed a human body in the front passenger seat next to the passed-out driver, police said. 

 

"As the officer shined his flashlight in the vehicle looking for alcoholic beverages that might be in plain view, stuff like that, he noticed what appeared to be a human body in the passenger side of the vehicle," said White Settlement Police Chief Christopher Cook in a Sunday press conference about the incident.

 

Medics were called to the scene and confirmed that the person was deceased, according to police. The victim was identified as a 45-year-old man, but his name has not been released yet, Cook said.

 

After seeing the body, Cook said the officer had the driver step out of the car for questioning. Police identified the driver as 31-year-old Nestor Lujan Flores of Arlington.

 

According to WSPD, Lujan Flores said that he thought he had struck a deer in Dallas and continued to drive to the parking lot about 40 miles away. 

 

Police said he never alerted first responders about the incident.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

On 11/29/2023 at 3:10 PM, China said:

Ex-security guard accused of having sex with corpse at Phoenix hospital morgue

 

A now-former Banner Health security guard is accused of having sex with a woman’s corpse last month at a Phoenix hospital. Officials confirmed 46-year-old Randall Bird was arrested on Tuesday.

 

On Oct. 24, Phoenix police were called to Banner University Medical Center Phoenix to investigate the crimes. Investigators say Bird worked as a security guard for the hospital. According to police, security guards are in charge of of transporting dead bodies to the morgue and placing them inside a freezer. However, guards aren’t supposed to open the body bags, only place them in the freezer shelves.

 

Video surveillance showed the 79-year-old victim’s body arrived at the morgue on Oct. 22, when Bird was in charge of transporting her to the morgue, police said. Court documents say two witnesses arrived at the morgue but found the doors locked from the inside, which was unusual. A light could be seen on the inside of the freezer, and the freezer door was cracked open. The two witnesses reportedly saw Bird inside the freezer, where he was “sweating profusely” and “acting very nervous.” Court paperwork states Bird had removed his duty belt, his zipper was open and his uniform looked “messy.” Investigators say the victim’s body bag was unzipped and she was facing down. Bird’s belt was also on top of the gurney, where the victim’s body was.

 

Authorities say as the witnesses walked into the morgue, Bird immediately tried covering the victim’s body. He then claimed that he had a medical episode and fainted, and grabbed the victim’s body as he fell, court paperwork states. Bird told the witnesses the body bag then tore open and the zipper broke, police said. However, the witnesses disputed this claim to police, saying the bag and zipper weren’t broken. The two then reported Bird to their supervisor.

 

On Oct. 25, police interviewed Bird, who claimed he had a medical episode and couldn’t remember what happened, investigators said. Crime scene investigators collected evidence from the victim and Bird, and his DNA was found on the victim.

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

On 11/29/2023 at 4:03 PM, China said:

In related news...

 

Hospital worker who had sex with more than 100 corpses over 15 years went undetected due to serious 'failures'

 

An electrician who had sex with more than 100 corpses over a 15-year period was able to do so without being detected due to serious failures of "management, governance, regulation and processes, and a persistent lack of curiosity," a new 300-plus page inquiry report found.

 

David Fuller, who was later convicted of murder, finally had his necrophilia spree uncovered in 2020 when police used DNA to tie him to the 1987 slayings of two women. During the investigation, they also discovered millions of images of sexual abuse in his home. These images included videos of him having sex with the dead bodies of women and girls in the mortuaries at two hospitals where he worked in southeast England.

 

"The offenses that David Fuller committed were truly shocking," the British government-ordered report said. "However, the failures of management, governance, regulation and processes, and a persistent lack of curiosity, all contributed to the creation of the environment in which he was able to offend.

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

Unfortunately, this seems to be a recurring theme...

 

Swansea man accused of abusing corpse, attorney asks for funeral home security video

 

Recent court filings indicate that video evidence is part of a St. Clair County Circuit Court case against a former Belleville funeral-home employee accused of abusing a corpse.

 

The state’s attorneys office charged Randy L. Willard, 65, of Swansea, with abuse of a corpse through sexual conduct, a Class 2 felony, in August. He was released on a $50,000 bond and later pleaded not guilty.

 

The case involves the body of a deceased man whose arrangements were handled by Valhalla-Gaerdner-Holten Funeral Home in unincorporated Belleville.

 

“Defendant placed his hand on the penis of (the man) for the purpose of sexual gratification or arousal of the defendant, ” according to the Aug. 18 charging document.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Man charged with throwing 16-year-old Shih Tzu in trash bag, rope around her neck, into dumpster

 

Workers at a Family Dollar store in Florida "found a trash bag inside the dumpster with something moving inside," the sheriff said, and a man is under arrest for what authorities call "a significant animal cruelty investigation."

 

The workers made the discovery on Thursday.

 

"Stuffed inside the bag, employees found sweet Xyla, a 16-year-old Shih Tzu, with a rope around her neck," Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said. "These heroic employees recognized this to be purposeful abuse and rushed Xyla to" a veterinarian.

 

 

Detectives found surveillance video showing “the suspect arriving at the dumpster in his vehicle, exiting, clearly removing a bundled up trash bag from within his trunk, and then tossing the bag into the dumpster from several feet away.
 

“During the investigation, detectives learned Xyla was micro-chipped, and then discovered the original owners were unfortunately deceased.”

 

Their investigation took them “to a nearby residence with the same vehicle matching that driven by the suspect in the surveillance footage.”

Anthony Lee Bellman opened the door and he “happened to be wearing the same clothing as the suspect in the footage, as well.

 

“Bellman was taken in for questioning,” and he ended up charged with aggravated animal cruelty.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Mystery as pair of human LEGS with socks & shoes still on are found in container shipped 8,000 miles from US to Thailand

 

FACTORY workers were horrified when they opened up a container to find a pair of rotten human legs inside - still wearing socks and trainers.

 

The recycling plant employees were opening up a shipment of cardboard from the US when they made the grim discovery.

 

Thai police are now liaising with US authorities as fears spread that the owner of the body parts may have been murdered before being hidden in the case and taken across the Pacific.

 

Lieutenant Colonel Dechanut Thayasirichuti of Sriracha police said: "It is possible the person was the victim of a murder."

 

"It did not happen in our country though."

 

The stomach-churning cargo was delivered on December 19 to a plant just outside Sriracha, a town around 100 miles south of the capital Bangkok.

 

When a worker was unpacking the layers of cardboard he was sickened when he saw a shin bone sticking out of a brown sports shoe with pink laces.

 

And, to make matters even more disturbing, the decomposing limb  was still sporting a black sock and appeared to have been severed at the knee.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Dad dressed as Santa plummets 24 storeys to his death in horror stunt gone wrong

 

Children watched in disbelief as Grandfather Frost – the Russian Santa – plummeted to his death from the 24th floor of a high-rise residential building.

 

 

The stunt took a catastrophic turn as the industrial climber-turned Santa for the night had planned to scale down the tower block in Chelyabinsk, Russia. Once at the bottom, he was due to meet and greet the youngsters who were waiting patiently beside a Christmas tree.

 

Although it's not known exactly why the experienced climber fell to his death, one theory suggests that a possible mix-up of his safety ropes could have led to the tragic incident.

 

It was initially believed by onlookers that the fall was all part of the act as they didn't weren't immediately aware of the tragedy that had just unfolded as the man fell onto a snow-covered structure one floor above ground level.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[TheGreatBuzz]

Seems like a good time to tell the kids that Santa isn't real.