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Tag: St. Louis

  • St. Louis Woman Stabs Brother For Criticizing Nicki Minaj, Sentenced To Seven Years Jail Time

    A woman who stabbed her brother to death after he allegedly criticized “Anaconda” hit maker Nicki Minaj is facing seven years imprisonment after her sentence was read on Monday.

    The accused, Angela Hallmon, now 55, reportedly stabbed her brother, Edward Hallmon on December 21, 2013 at their home in the 5300 block of Northland Avenue after a heated discussion over Nicki Minaj. Both Angela and Edward were drunk at the time of the incident, and Edward apparently made remarks about Minaj, which angered the suspect.

    What Edward said about Nicki Minaj that provoked Angela remains unclear. She stabbed her brother in the chest with a knife, putting him in grave condition.

    Police records stated that Angela hid the weapon, and onlookers claimed she had cleaned up her brother’s blood from the crime scene. The woman was immediately arrested at the scene.

    She was initially charged with first-degree domestic assault, evidence tampering, and two counts of armed criminal action afterwards. However, prosecutors in July 2015 upgraded the charges to second-degree murder, armed criminal action, and two counts of evidence tampering after her brother, who had been in a state of coma since the incident, died on March 8. And because the amount of time between the stabbing and his death is less than 18 months, his death was counted as a homicide.

    On Monday, the avid fan of Nicki Minaj pleaded guilty to a “reduced charge of involuntary manslaughter, armed criminal action, and evidence tampering as part of a plea agreement,” according to stltoday.com.

    “Based on the defendant’s lack of criminal history and the facts of the case, the state and defense believe this is an appropriate disposition,” Assistant Circuit Attorney Angie E. Danis reportedly indicated in the said plea agreement.

  • Brown Recluse Infestation Leads to Lawsuits, Foreclosure

    Imagine moving into a new home and having a spider problem. It’s a pest problem that many new homeowners have probably had to deal with. Now imagine that the spiders are some of the most dangerous in the U.S., and that no amount of pest control can rid the house of them.

    It’s a story that seems to be taken directly from the 1990 movie Arachnophobia. In the movie, Jeff Daniels and John Goodman battle an unthinkable infestation of deadly spiders, eventually solving the problem using fire. In real life, however, a family living in a St. Louis, Missouri suburb opted not to burn down their new house and were instead forced from their home.

    According to a St. Louis Post-Dispatch report Brian and Susan Trost bought a 2,400-square-foot home in Weldon Spring, Missouri in 2007. They soon found out that the house was infested with at least 4,500 brown recluse spiders.

    The Trost family’s description of the infestation reads like a nightmare for arachnophobes. The Trosts found webs throughout the house in blinds, air registers, the pantry, the fireplace, and other locations. The spiders themselves were encountered frequently on floors and behind wallpaper. Just like in the movie, Susan Trost said she once encountered one of the spiders while showering.

    The family tried everything they could to rid the house of the spiders, starting with weekly pest control treatments. This eventually progressed to removing drywall and insulation for more thorough pesticide treatments.

    None of the treatments worked for good and the family was forced to abandon the house. In 2008 the Trosts filed a claim with their insurance company and filed a lawsuit against the house’s previous owners. The Trosts were awarded nearly half a million dollars by a judge, but State Farm appealed the case. The insurance company claimed that the Trosts’ insurance policy excludes insects (spiders are not insects) and that spiders do not constitute physical damage to the property.

    The house itself was foreclosed on and is currently owned by the Federal National Mortgage Association. After years of legal wrangling the property was finally rid of the spiders last week. A large tent was placed over the property and flooded with cold sulfuryl flouride gas, a procedure that exterminators insist will kill every living thing in the house.

  • Elephants Run Rampant in St. Louis

    Elephants Run Rampant in St. Louis

    During a Shriners Circus show Saturday at a multipurpose arena near St. Louis, Missouri, three elephants were spooked by a loud noise, and took off into the parking lot.

    The three female pachyderms escaped their handlers during the “ride-an-elephant” segment of the Moolah Shrine event at the Family Arena in St. Charles, though no one was on top of any of them when the incident occurred.

    Witness Sally Schmiz commented, “Things started shaking, When I looked up I saw three elephants coming toward us. These huge elephants litterally went through these huge RVs. Then they went through two trucks breaking mirrors off, and panels off and breaking the windows.”

    No one was injured during the escape, and the elephants’ handlers were quickly able to corral them. Dennis Kelley, President of Moolah Shriners Circus, said, “The elephants were loose for a brief period. The handlers were able to occupy the animals and they are resting comfortably at this time.”

    Circus elephants tend to like to make a run for it, and the St. Louis incident is not at all unprecedented. Here an elephant takes off from a gig in Ireland:

    The use of elephants in circuses has been a controversial subject – the United States Humane Society has accused circuses of abusing and traumatizing their animals. During his testimony to a U.S. federal court in 2009, Barnum & Bailey Circus CEO Kenneth Feld admitted that circus elephants are beaten behind their ears, under their chins and on their legs with bull hooks. Feld explained that these practices are in place to protect the trainers.

    In a statement a Shriners spokesperson commented, “The elephants were loose on the parking lot for a brief period. And they are resting comfortably at this time. That’s the only statement I have.” The circus continued, and the errant elephants were back to work on Sunday.

    Witness Schmiz added, “Thank God no children were on top of them for rides, or adults too. You could tell they were upset.”

    Image via YouTube.

  • Elephants Escape Circus, Damage Cars

    How many circus clowns does it take to capture three elephants in a parking lot?

    Not sure, but they needed quite a few to corral three elephants that managed to escape their enclosure Saturday at the Moolah Shrine Circus in St. Louis.

    The pachyderms apparently found their freedom when loud noises from circus goers spooked the elephants, and they fled.

    They didn’t get far… they only made it to the employee parking lot before handlers were able to round them up, according to Dennis Burkholder, spokesman for St. Louis’ Shriners.

    One handler trying to corral the elephants wanted to tempt them with treats, circus goer Allie Tunncliff told KSDK. She manage to take a video clip of an elephant between cars.

    “She yelled to one guy, ‘I need anything, just pretzels, any kind of food,’ ” Tunncliff said.

    Burkholder said two cars were damage in a private, employee parking lot. The damaged cars belong to circus employees — or Shriners — whom the circus website describes as men in “funny red hats, who drive little yellow cars, dress like clowns.”

    The elephants themselves were unhurt, but the circus gave them a a bit of a break for Saturday night’s performance, allowing them to rest after all the excitement, Burkholder said.

    Needless to say, Twitter had a field day with the escape news.

    Image via YouTube

  • Cardinals’ Plane Delayed at Airport Terminal

    Today has not been the best for the St. Louis Cardinals. Instead of traveling problem-free to Boston for Game 6 of the World Series, the players spent extra hours at an airport delaying their arrival into the Boston area. In fact, several hours were spent aboard the plane while the team members were forced to wait for mechanical problems to be sorted.

    While there is no specific word on what led to the mechanical problems, the St. Louis area experienced heavy rain on Tuesday.

    Manager Mike Matheny explained that the players waited on the runway without specific word on when the plane would be able to depart. However, fans of the team should not feel disheartened that the delay interfered with practice time. Tuesday was expected to be an off day for practicing.

    However, the delay was used as an excuse for some people on Twitter to poke fun at the team’s predicament.

    It appears that team members took the delay (and the teasing) in stride. Michael Wacha, who is reported to start Game 6 for St. Louis, said that his teammates were using the delay to relax and watch movies. You know, to get their heads in the game!

    [Image Via Facebook]

  • St. Louis Teams Lose Twice In One Night

    St. Louis Teams Lose Twice In One Night

    The St. Louis Rams have had a tough season so far. First, they loss their franchise quarterback, Sam Bradford, who was loss for the season with a torn ACL last Sunday against the Carolina Panthers. Next, desperate for help at the quarterback position, they reportedly called retired and 44 year old Brett Favre to come play for them. Favre said thanks, but no.

    Just when you think things could not get any worse for the Rams, guess what? Tonight’s Monday Night Football game versus the division rival (and first place) Seattle Seahawks came to town. Now, you might think, the Rams will have support from their strong and loyal fans, right? One thing, the game is being played on the same night that the World Series is being played between the Boston Red Sox and the hometown St. Louis Cardinals. St. Louis has long been a great baseball city for many years, so no surprise that the game tonight in the Edward James Dome, home for the Rams, was not at capacity tonight.

    When you think about it, this makes perfect sense. The Rams’ season might be over without their franchise quarterback. They are in last place in the tough NFC West division. Oh, and this is the World Series. While the NFL has dominated ratings over the years, the World Series made last night’s TV ratings battle over Sunday Night Football very close. Growing up, this was what is expected and it’s something to take notice. It does not hurt that Boston has a great following and a strong media market to help out. Nor does it hurt that this year’s World Series has been very interesting.

    As for the Rams game tonight, well at least they have something in common with their baseball brethren, they both lost.

    Image via Twitter

  • St. Louis Shooting: Four Dead, Including Gunman

    A St. Louis shooting this afternoon left four people dead in an a murder-suicide at a health care business on St. Louis’s Cherokee Street.

    Two women and two men – one of whom was the gunman – were killed. Based on surveillance footage from the scene, it appears to have resulted from an argument that took place inside the business – A K Home Health Care. All four of the dead are in their 40s and 50s, according to police.

    Police say that the shooter appears to have been the owner of the business, and the three victims were members of the staff. The motives behind the shooting remain unclear at this time. Authorities were unsure as to whether the situation developed from an ongoing argument between the owner and his staff.

    According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the owner of record for the business is Khadra Muse of O’Fallon, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. Police have not yet confirmed that Muse is, in fact, the shooter.

    Police response to the incident appears to have been almost immediate. According to witnesses there were officers who happened to be in the area at the time of the shooting. A woman reportedly ran out of the building screaming for help and encountered the officers. It is unclear whether the shooter had already taken his own life by the time officers responded.

    The names of the dead have not yet been released, and police have been reluctant to offer more than a few scant details about the situation, due to the fact that the investigation is ongoing.