Embryo saved from Katrina's flood is now a boy named Noah

By: Associated Press | Tuesday, January 16, 2007 6:54 PM PST ∞

COVINGTON, La. -- The baby was only seven hours old when television cameras drew near Tuesday, fixating on Noah Benton Markham almost as if he were the offspring of a Hollywood power couple.

But the attention was no surprise. Noah has been the object of media interest since before his birth because he grew from an embryo that nearly defrosted in a sweltering hospital during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

When he entered the world Tuesday, his parents even did a post-birth interview with the Weather Channel.

"We love to share our story," said father Glen Markham, a New Orleans police officer. "It's something good that came out of Katrina."

Because he was rescued from a great flood while he was just a frozen embryo in liquid nitrogen, his parents named him after the most famous flood survivor of them all, Noah.

"All babies are miracles. But we have some special miracles," said Wanda Stogner, a cousin of the infant's mother, Rebekah Markham, 32.

Relatives gathered around Glen Markham as the proud 42-year-old father carried the tiny blanket-wrapped bundle topped by a pink-and-blue cap out of the operating room at St. Tammany Parish Hospital. For a few seconds he tried to make them guess whether the baby was a boy or a girl.

Then he announced, "It's a boy!" to an eruption of cheers and applause.

Two weeks after Katrina hit, law officers used flat-bottom boats to rescue the Markhams' embryos and some 1,400 other ones stored in tanks of coolant at New Orleans' Lakeland Hospital.

The tanks had been topped off with liquid nitrogen and moved from the first floor to the third as the storm drew near, but the hurricane swamped the hospital with 8 feet of water and knocked out the electricity.

The Markhams had decided that if their baby was girl, she would be named Hannah Mae, Hannah meaning "God has favored us." A boy would be named after the biblical builder of the Ark -- an idea that came from Rebekah Markham's sister-in-law.

"That is the best name!" said Ramon Pyrzak, lab director for the Fertility Institute of New Orleans, where the Markhams created embryos from their sperm and eggs after nearly a decade of inability to have a baby.

Noah's older brother, 2-year-old Glen Witter "Witt" Markham Jr., whose embryo was created at the same time as Noah's but implanted immediately in 2003, stood on his mother's hospital bed and leaned forward to give the baby a gentle kiss.

"So soft!" Witt said.

If the embryos had thawed, each woman who wanted another baby would have had to undergo another expensive round of fertility drugs, egg harvesting and in vitro fertilization. Rebekah Markham estimated her first pregnancy cost $12,000.

"It's amazing that he was frozen," Glen Markham said as he gazed through the nursery window at the squalling newborn. "I thought the only thing you could freeze was a crab. You freeze a crab and defrost it, and it'll come back to life."

Train hauling volatile chemicals derails in Kentucky; fire closes major highway, nearby school

BROOKS, Ky. (AP) -- Several train cars carrying volatile chemicals derailed and exploded Tuesday south of Louisville, shutting down a highway and forcing evacuations of homes, businesses and a school, authorities said.

No serious injuries were reported, but at least 11 people near the crash checked themselves into a hospital and were soon released, authorities said. Officials asked residents within a mile to evacuate.

The blaze produced a large column of black smoke in the mostly rural area. Television footage showed several blazing cars stacked across the rail lines and flaming liquid flowing down ditches from the mangled tanker cars.

The fire continued into Tuesday evening, and officials said they will likely have to let the chemicals burn themselves out.

The chemicals on the CSX train contributing to the fire were cyclohexane, methyl ethyl ketone, butadiene and alcohol, said Gary Sease, a CSX spokesman.

"These substances themselves are pretty toxic, but when they burn they break down a whole lot," said Jeremey Urekew, a spokesman for Bullitt County Emergency Management. "This fire is going to burn itself out."

Two other cars were carrying hazardous materials that could pose an environmental threat, but they were not near the fire, he said.

Sease said the train -- with four locomotives and 80 cars -- was headed to Louisville from Birmingham, Ala.

The immediate area, including Brooks Elementary School, was evacuated, said state police Maj. Lisa Rudzinski.

The crash occurred about 8:45 a.m. EST, and an 18-mile stretch of Interstate 65 remained closed into Tuesday evening.

The Kentucky National Guard said it mobilized 20 to 25 soldiers and airmen to check air quality.

Bullitt County resident Daymon Strange said he was outside his home less than a half-mile from the crash site when he heard an explosion.

"I turned around and looked and there was fire at least 500 feet in the air," he said in a telephone interview. "I've never seen such a fire. It was huge."

Strange said he smelled the fumes even though they were blowing away from his home.

"You can taste it and feel it in your lungs when you go outside," he said.

The Red Cross set up a shelter in neighboring Jefferson County for evacuees, but only about a dozen people had checked in by early evening, said William Ney, a volunteer.

Officials with the National Transportation and Safety Board were investigating and declined to comment on a possible cause.

Gov. Ernie Fletcher, who flew over the area with the Kentucky Air National Guard, said he has not determined whether a state of emergency will be declared.

It was the second fiery train crash in Kentucky in two days. On Monday, four runaway rail cars struck two parked locomotives in central Kentucky, catching fire and spilling a chemical that prompted a limited evacuation.

Mo. kidnapping defendant escaped suspicion for years; police looked for the usual suspects

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The man accused of kidnapping two Missouri boys and keeping one of them for more than four years escaped suspicion right up until the very end -- largely because he had no criminal record.

In fact, Michael Devlin apparently had so little fear of being caught that he used to joke around with police at the pizza parlor where he worked, and even phoned officers when he had a dispute with a neighbor over a parking space, authorities say.

"As Claude Rains said (in `Casablanca'), you `round up the usual suspects' and more often than not, you're right," said Charles Bahn, a professor of psychology at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. "In this case, he wasn't on the record as a usual suspect. Police did the best they could but didn't have a lead."

Devlin, 41, was arrested last week after police searching for a 13-year-old boy kidnapped on Jan. 8 went to Devlin's apartment in suburban Kirkwood. Police found not only the 13-year-old, but, to their utter surprise, 15-year-old Shawn Hornbeck, who vanished 4.5 years ago.

That Devlin escaped the scrutiny of friends, family and co-workers for so long has baffled many members of the community and led investigators to ponder whether they did enough -- or relied too heavily on mistaken assumptions -- in looking for Shawn.

Early in the investigation into Shawn's disappearance, authorities scrutinized area residents with records of sexual misconduct involving children. But Devlin had little more on his record than a pair of traffic tickets.

Last year, Kirkwood police even visited the apartment Devlin shared with Shawn -- some neighbors assumed they were father and son -- after Devlin became angry and called police to complain that a neighbor had parked in his spot. But police saw nothing to arouse their suspicions.

Also, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that a co-worker of Devlin's at Imo's pizzeria tipped off police to similarities between Devlin's rusty white pickup truck and the one seen at the site of 13-year-old Ben Ownby's abduction earlier this month. But the newspaper said the tip was not given top priority because Devlin had no criminal record.

"He had the whole little town fooled," John Walsh, host of "America's Most Wanted," said in an interview. "I'd say this is a pretty smart guy."

Ultimately, the boys were rescued after two police officers who knew Devlin as occasional customers at the pizzeria noticed Devlin's pickup. Devlin turned defensive when the officers began questioning him about it.

Tom Ballman, a Kirkwood police officer and department spokesman who frequented the pizza shop, said he and others have been groping for signs they may have missed.

"Every single one of us is saying, `What could we have done differently?"' Ballman said. "How could we have gotten Shawn home earlier?"

Bahn, the criminal justice expert, said police were right to seek out known child predators because this is a crime that "not only is compulsive, it's cyclical. You not only want to solve this case, but prevent the next one from coming along."

Moreover, experts said it is not uncommon for a criminal to live peacefully and blend smoothly into the community. Some point to Dennis Rader, the Kansas man known as the BTK killer, who was a husband, father and active churchgoer even while he was on his violent spree that claimed 10 lives.

"They can appear to be just an everyday person -- a good neighbor, in some cases, a family man, a conscientious employee," said Stanton Samenow, a forensic psychologist and author of "Inside the Criminal Mind."

People who commit horrendous acts "often don't have a prior criminal record," he said. "These are people who are very calculating. They are very certain that when they do what they do they'll get away with it. They're certain of their successes. They've done their homework. There's a super-optimism."

Devlin, for his part, seemed comfortable chatting with police who gathered at the pizza parlor. He also was known as a quiet, punctual worker at the funeral home where he held a night job.

Authorities also had contact with Shawn over the years; they simply failed to connect him with the boy whose face had been plastered on posters and milk cartons around town.

Shawn's friend Tony Douglas said that on three occasions, police stopped the two for being out beyond curfew. Officers gave the boys a ride home, unaware of Shawn's real identity, Tony said.

The Post-Dispatch cited another encounter between Shawn and police that occurred Sept. 29 when an officer stopped the boy, who was riding his bike about 11:20 p.m., about a mile from Devlin's apartment.

According to the police report, Shawn identified himself as Shawn Devlin and gave a birth date of July 7, 1991 -- 10 days off his actual birthday. Shawn told the officer he was riding to the apartment after visiting a friend's home.

"He was wearing dark clothing and didn't have reflectors on his bike," Glendale Sgt. Bob Catlett told the newspaper. "The officer stopped him to find out who he was. He said he was Shawn Devlin, and we had no reason to doubt him."

Shawn has not spoken publicly about his ordeal. Ben talked briefly with The Associated Press on Tuesday. But like Shawn, he was asked by investigators and his parents to avoid discussing details of his captivity.

He said it was great to be back with family: "It feels like I'm getting bruises from too many hugs."

Associated Press writers Cheryl Wittenauer, Betsy Taylor and Jim Salter in St. Louis, and Christopher Leonard in Beaufort, Mo., contributed to this report.

Thousands in several states shiver without power in wake of killer storm; toll at 49

BUFFALO, Mo. (AP) -- Shoppers were reduced to picking up supplies by flashlight Tuesday in the few places open in this town of 2,800, which lost all its power by Saturday as a winter storm swept through on its way to killing at least 49 people in eight states.

Three shelters in this town -- about 35 miles north of Springfield in hard-hit Missouri -- housed nearly a tenth of its population Monday night, and officials said power might not be restored until next week.

The water towers ran dry Sunday, and water service was restored only late Monday, after the National Guard hooked a generator up to a pumping staation.

"There are no services," Buffalo Mayor Jerry Hardesty said. "I've talked to residents who have lived here 50 years, and nobody can remember it ever being this bad."

About 450,000 homes and businesses in several states were still without electricity Tuesday after a storm that brought ice, snow, flooding and high winds to a swath of the country from Texas to Maine.

The storm had largely blown out of New England by Tuesday, but forecasters expected more freezing rain to hit parts of Texas, perhaps even Houston, on Wednesday night, said Dennis Cook of the National Weather Service. Gusty winds were forecast to make the Northeast bone-chilling cold through Wednesday night before warming Thursday.

At the First Baptist Church in McAlester, Okla., where most of the city's 18,000 residents have lacked power for four days, 47 residents huddled under blankets and in front of space heaters.

"If it wasn't for the shelter, I don't know where we'd be," said Tara Guzman, 38, playing board games with her four children. "We're tough; we lasted when the power went out until (Monday). We brought mattresses out in the living room and cuddled."

Subfreezing temperatures were expected to continue in the state, with little sunshine to aid in melting the ice until Thursday or Friday, said National Weather Service meterologist Kevin Brown.

Some of the 92,000 Oklahoma homes and businesses without power might not have it restored until next week, utility company spokesman said.

"There are a lot of places where virtually everything is destroyed," Public Service Company of Oklahoma spokesman Stan Whiteford said. "In some cases, entire electric services will have to be rebuilt."

Texas Gov. Rick Perry moved his inauguration ceremony indoors for the first time in five decades.

In Missouri, the utility company Ameren said it would probably not have everyone's lights back on until Wednesday night. As of Tuesday afternoon, about 210,000 homes and businesses still had no electricity.

The White House said Tuesday that 34 Missouri counties and St. Louis had been declared a major disaster area, making federal funding available. A similar federal disaster declaration was approved Sunday for Oklahoma.

More than 200,000 customers in Michigan also lost power at some point, and many were still blacked out Tuesday. Many customers were also without power in central and western New York, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

Waves of freezing rain, sleet and snow since Friday had been blamed for at least 17 deaths in Oklahoma, eight in Missouri, eight in Iowa, four in New York, five in Texas, three in Michigan, three in Arkansas and one in Maine.

Elsewhere, Washington state's Puget Sound area, known for drizzle rather than its recent freezing weather, was hit by another round of snow Tuesday, snarling traffic and closing schools for more than 380,000 students. The Oregon Legislature delayed hearings and sessions until afternoon because of the weather.

In California, three nights of freezing weather had destroyed up to three-quarters of the state's $1 billion citrus crop, according to an estimate issued Monday. Other crops, including avocados and strawberries, also suffered damage.

"This is one of those freezes that, unfortunately, we'll all remember," said A.G. Kawamura, secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Liz Austin Peterson in Austin, Texas; Betsy Taylor in St. Louis; Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City; Justin Juozapavicius in McAlester, Okla.; and Timberly Ross in Omaha, Neb.

Formal inquiry set for March 27 in Bahamas in death Smith son

NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) -- A formal inquiry into the death of Anna Nicole Smith's 20-year-old son has been scheduled for March 27 in the Bahamas, the chief magistrate said Tuesday.

The reality TV star, who gave birth to a daughter three days before Daniel Smith mysteriously died at her hospital bedside on Sept. 10, will be among the witnesses required to testify before the jury inquest, Chief Magistrate Roger Gomez said.

"It's to try and answer all the unanswered questions that have been raised in this matter," he told reporters.

The inquest at the coroner's court will be open to the media, he said.

A private pathologist concluded that Daniel Smith died from a lethal combination of methadone and two antidepressants. Gomez didn't disclose the conclusions of the official pathologist or a police investigation.

Smith, 39, has said she was seeking privacy when she came to the island chain in July.

On the Net:

Anna Nicole Smith: http://www.annanicole.com

Man being held in Phoenix serial killings is charged with 9 murders

PHOENIX (AP) -- A man suspected of being the area's serial "Baseline Killer" has been indicted on charges including nine counts of first-degree murder, a prosecutor said Tuesday.

The 74 charges against Mark Goudeau, which also include 15 counts of sexual assault and 11 counts of kidnapping, stem from crimes committed between August 2005 and June 2006 throughout the Phoenix area.

"The reign of terror has ended. The quest for justice has just begun," prosecutor Andrew Thomas said.

Corwin Townsend, Goudeau's lawyer, didn't immediately return a call seeking comment Tuesday.

Goudeau has yet to enter a plea. The indictment was issued Friday.

Police announced last month that the man they believed to be the Baseline Killer was in custody and recommended that Goudeau be charged with murder and other crimes.

Goudeau, an ex-convict, has been in jail since September, when he was arrested in two sexual assaults attributed to the Baseline Killer. At the time, police stopped short of pronouncing Goudeau the Baseline Killer while they built a case against him.

But last month, police said that investigators had collected forensic evidence -- including DNA and ballistics -- and other evidence implicating Goudeau in the killings.

The Baseline Killer case originally included eight killings. A ninth was publicly revealed in December. Most of the victims, all but one of them women, were killed going about their daily activities, such as leaving work, washing a car or waiting at a bus stop.

Police have said the killer usually struck at night and wore disguises, including a wig of dreadlocks and a fisherman's hat. The name Baseline Killer came from the Phoenix street where some of the earliest crimes were committed.

About half of the Baseline Killer attacks occurred within three miles of the Phoenix home Goudeau shared with his wife. One woman was killed just around the corner.

Goudeau had previously served 13.5 years in prison for three aggravated assaults, armed robbery and kidnapping before being paroled in 2004. He once blamed his history of violence on a weakness for crack cocaine.

The Baseline Killer was one of two serial killer cases that spread fear across the Phoenix area in recent months.

In August, police arrested two roommates in what was dubbed the Serial Shooter case. The two men are accused of driving around the city and its suburbs at night, firing at people randomly from a car. Seven people were killed.

The defendants are awaiting trial.

Former Penn State player charged with stabbing student to death

BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) -- A former Penn State defensive lineman was arrested Tuesday in the killing of a student who was stabbed 93 times last spring.

LaVon Chisley, 23, of Waldorf, Md., was arrested after arriving at the Centre County courthouse for a hearing related to the murder investigation. He had been considered a "person of interest" in the case for months.

Chisley was arraigned in district court on charges of first- and third-degree murder in the death of Langston Carraway, said Patton Township Police Chief John Petrick. He was sent to jail without bail.

Chisley was booted off the Penn State football team before the 2005 season because of poor grades. After starting nine games in 2003, Chisley was mainly a reserve in 2004.

The body of Carraway, 26, a senior in labor and industrial relations, was discovered inside his State College apartment on June 5.

Chisley's attorney, Karen Muir, didn't immediately return messages left Tuesday morning.

Santa Cruz Labradoodle awakens owner, saves from burning cottage

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) -- A savvy Labradoodle has one lucky owner.

Firefighters said Bella -- a mix of poodle and Labrador retriever -- saved the life of her owner Matt Carcerano on Monday, waking him before his Santa Cruz cottage went up in flames.

At 3:30 a.m. Bella woke Carcerano, a 32-year-old welder, with a combination of growling, whimpering and barking.

"It was weird. I was sound asleep and she made noises I'd never heard before," Carcerano said. "I opened my eyes and it was just orange."

The floor-to-ceiling wall heater in the 50-year-old, two-room cottage was on fire, and Carcerano rushed out in socks and pajamas just as the entire place went up in flames. All of his belongings were destroyed except for a few photo albums he was able to grab.

The cottage had no smoke detectors. Fire department battalion chief Mike Venezio called Bella a lifesaver.

Carcerano said he planned to take Bella for a two-hour romp on her favorite local beach, once he took care of some personal issues.

"I gotta go buy shoes," he said.

Information from: Santa Cruz Sentinel, http://www.santacruzsentinel.com

Government offers reward for leopard believed to have eaten 3 children in Indian Kashmir

SRINAGAR, India (AP) -- Police in Indian-controlled Kashmir offered a reward Tuesday for any information on a killer leopard believed to have eaten three children in the last week.

The children, ages 8 to 10, were mauled to death by a leopard near the Chatergul village last week, officials said. A 10-year-old boy also was killed there last month.

A $225 reward will be given to anyone with information on tracking down the leopard, said police officer Hemant Lohia.

Leopards are protected under the Indian Wildlife Act and their killing is punishable by up to six years imprisonment. Wildlife officers said an exception to laws protecting the animals had been made.

"We've given permission for the killing of leopard as it has turned into man-eater," said Farooq Ahmed, an officer in the wildlife department.

Leopard attacks on humans sometimes increase in winter when the animals are forced down from their natural ranges by snow in search of food.

Chatergul village is 56 miles south of Srinagar, the summer capital of India's Jammu-Kashmir state.

In the state's Manda national park, some 55 miles south of Jammu city, villagers caught and killed another leopard that was prowling around their village, park officials said.

In the last six months, 10 people have been killed by wild animals in two districts of Jammu-Kashmir state, while a similar number of bears and leopards have been killed in the same time, Lohia said.

The Islamic state of Pakistan and majority-Hindu India both control parts of Kashmir, a predominantly Muslim region in the Himalayan mountains, which was divided between them during partition of the subcontinent on independence from Britain in 1947. They have since fought two of their three wars over it -- the first in 1948.

Naomi Campbell pleads guilty to assault in NYC court Tuesday for hitting maid with cell phone

NEW YORK (AP) -- Naomi Campbell pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault Tuesday for hitting her maid with a cell phone over a pair of missing jeans.

"I threw a cell phone in the apartment. The cell phone hit Ana," Campbell told Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Robert Mandelbaum. "This was an accident because I did not intend to hit her."

If convicted at trial, Campbell, who originally had been charged with second-degree felony assault, could have been sentenced to two to seven years in prison.

Campbell, 36, hit Ana Scolavino in the back of the head with the phone in the supermodel's Manhattan apartment last March. Scolavino was treated for a head injury.

In exchange for her guilty plea, Campbell must pay Scolavino's medical expenses of $363, do five days of community service and attend a two-day anger management program.

The British catwalker wore stiletto heels, a thin gold anklet on her right leg under sheer black hose, a formfitting black dress under a charcoal gray, waist-length jacket and several gold chains around her neck.

Outside the courthouse, her lawyer, David Breitbart, said he didn't want Campbell exposed to stalkers, so "I'm hopeful she can do the community service indoors."

Assistant District Attorney Shanda Strain indicated in court that she had no objection to Campbell working indoors.

Breitbart said Campbell will be working in fashion shows for the next several weeks in California, London, Paris, Milan, Italy, and Brazil, will have until May 21 to complete the community service condition in her sentence.

Some 100 members of the media covered her court appearance, but Campbell left the courthouse in a black Cadillac Escalade without speaking to them.

Campbell's publicist, Howard Bragman, called The Associated Press to issue a statement that he said the model was unable to give because of the media horde.

"I pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in court today. That's the best way I know to say I'm sorry to Ana. I accepted responsibility and I'm prepared to take my punishment. But I'm not going to let this incident define me. The past is the past. My future holds great things and I'm getting on with my life," the statement said.

Campbell was discovered at age 15 and began a career that landed her in magazines worldwide, including the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.

The supermodel has a reputation for angry outbursts and abusive behavior with employees dating back almost 10 years. She pleaded guilty in Toronto to assault for hitting another assistant while making a film in Canada in 1998. Several of her former employees have filed lawsuits accusing her of assault.

Pa. attorney arrested after authorities say he was found naked in courthouse with teenager

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A criminal defense lawyer was arrested after a sheriff's deputy found him naked with a 14-year-old girl in a courthouse conference room, authorities said Tuesday.

The deputy looked into the room during rounds Monday afternoon and discovered 49-year-old Larry Charles and the girl, said Lt. Dan Bagnell of the police department's Special Victims Unit.

"He had asked for sex. But there was no physical contact we're aware of," Bagnell said.

Bagnell said the girl was not a client of Charles, but their exact relationship was unclear.

Charles was charged with solicitation, attempted statutory sexual assault and related counts. He was awaiting arraignment Tuesday and bail had not yet been set. A woman who answered the phone at his office said she could not comment.

Courts were closed Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but the courthouse was open for attorneys who needed to conduct business in the building.

Two knives recovered from N.C. house where girl was beheaded; father waives extradition

CLAYTON, N.C. (AP) -- Two large kitchen knives were confiscated as evidence in the decapitation of a 4-year-old girl, and her father is awaiting extradition to North Carolina, police said Tuesday.

Authorities arrested John Patrick Violette, 37, at a Washington D.C. hotel on Saturday, a day after his daughter's body was discovered by her mother in the family's home.

Violette was expected to be brought back to North Carolina on Wednesday and will be charged with first-degree murder, said Clayton Police Chief Glen Allen.

"He'll be charged as soon as he's in the state," the chief said.

Allen said investigators seized a butcher knife and a knife with a serrated edge from the Violette's home about 15 miles southeast of Raleigh.

Other items taken in the case included pieces of hair, a child's pajamas stained red and a pair of adult jeans also with red stains on the right knee, according to a search warrant.

The chief said the father was the sole suspect in the case.