NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Nation
1 George Floyd: A judge on Thursday rejected defense requests to move the trial of four former Minneapolis police officers charged in George Floyd’s death, and also ordered that all four will be tried together instead of separately. Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill ruled after defense attorneys had argued that publicity had made it impossible for the four men to get a fair trial in Minneapolis, that witnesses could be intimidated, and jurors could be affected by crowds outside. But Cahill said he was unpersuaded that moving the trial would improve security, and believes the jury can be protected from outside influences.
2 Newborn deaths: A South Carolina mother who skipped the trial where she was convicted of homicide by child abuse for throwing two of her newborns away in trash bags moments after they born will spend 40 years in prison. Alyssa Dayvault, 32, was sentenced to 20 years for the deaths of each child, and will serve the sentences at the same time. Dayvault hid her pregnancies in 2017 and 2018 from everyone, including her boyfriend and her mother, gave birth at her North Myrtle Beach home alone then put the newborns into trash bags and threw them away, prosecutors said.
3 1976 murder case: An 83yearold man charged with killing a couple in a northeastern Wisconsin park in 1976 has been found competent to stand trial. A judge in Marinette County Circuit Court this week found that Raymand Vannieuwenhoven is able to understand court proceedings and assist in his own defense. Vannieuwenhoven was charged last year in the longunsolved fatal shootings of David Schuldes, 25, and Ellen Matheys, 24, in Silver Cliff, about 200 miles north of Milwaukee. Investigators didn’t have any major leads until 2018, when a lab in Virginia identified Vannieuwenhoven’s DNA from a licked envelope collected at the crime scene.
4 Gunman’s records: A request by several media groups for the school records of the man who gunned down nine people in Dayton last year was rejected Thursday by the Ohio Supreme Court. The groups argued that the student records could provide information on whether authorities properly handled early warning signs from slain gunman Connor Betts. But the court ruled 61 that the law “is unambiguous and is not truly susceptible to differing interpretations.” Betts was killed by police after he opened fire Aug. 4, 2019, in Dayton’s crowded Oregon District entertainment area. Armed with an AR15 style gun with an extended ammunition magazine, Betts killed nine people, including his sister, and wounded dozens more.
5 Trayvon Martin Avenue: A section of road that leads to the Miami high school that Trayvon Martin attended now bears the name of the Black teenager whose 2012 death sparked a movement for social justice. The road became Trayvon Martin Avenue during a ceremony on Thursday near Dr. Michael K. Krop Senior High, where the teen was in 11th grade when he was killed. Martin, 17, was shot dead by George Zimmerman while visiting his father in Sanford, Fla. The teen was unarmed and walking back from a convenience store.