SLAIN WOMAN'S BLOG MAYBE KEY IN MURDER MYSTERY A man who killed his wife, their three young children and himself in their northwest Maryland home had a hard time adjusting to his new manager's job for a railroad and it was causing him stress, according a blog entry his wife posted last month.
The children's grandfather discovered the murder-suicide Saturday when he went to check on the family at their Middletown home, authorities said. Francis Billotti Wood, 33, and her children suffered "traumatic cuts" and each had at least one wound from a .25-caliber handgun, Frederick County Sheriff Charles Jenkins said. Her husband, 34-year-old Christopher Alan Wood, was found at the foot of his bed, dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said. (WTOP)
DC MURDER INVESTIGATION SEEMS SHADY
Nineteen months ago, DeOnté Rawlings, a teen suspected of stealing a minibike, was killed in an exchange of gunfire. The off-duty D.C. police officers involved were investigated and cleared. But do the reports add up? Near dusk one September evening in 2007, a boy cruises on a stolen, red, gas-powered minibike down an alley in Southeast's Highland Dwellings public housing complex. A gold Chevrolet Tahoe passes with two men inside, both off-duty D.C. police officers, both armed. The driver is determined to recover his bike. He slams the SUV into reverse and races backward in pursuit. There is an exchange of gunfire. When it is over, a 14-year-old lies dying in the fading autumn light, a bullet hole in the back of his head. The shooting of DeOnté Rawlings was one of the most controversial and emotional the city had seen in decades, and Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier publicly promised a thorough and open investigation. Their unusual stance, which included paying for the boy's funeral, brought political heat from the police union and the force. (WASHINGTONPOST)
BODYGUARDS MAY GET HEFTY SALARY WHILE COUNTY'S BUDGET STAYS IN THE RED Leggett bodyguards would make $90K a year in proposed budget Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett’s proposed budget would pay his four bodyguards an average of $90,000 a year in salary and benefits. With the county facing unprecedented budget deficits of more than $520 million, some County Council members are questioning whether lower-paid guards could be used. And one councilman is questioning whether Leggett needs a security detail at all. I’ve just always asked myself whether such a security detail was required for anyone in that position, said Council Vice President Roger Berliner, D-Potomac/Bethesda. Leggett’s security team is made up of four lieutenants from the county’s Security Services Division. The lieutenants split their time between guarding Leggett and supervising the division, said Leggett’s spokesman. The division has a nearly $5 million budget and is responsible for guarding county facilities. (WASHINGTONEXAMINER)
