The owner of the Tennessee factory where workers drowned after Hurricane Helene won't face charges
The investigation found no evidence that Impact Plastics employees were told they could not leave the factory or that they would be fired if they left, according to a news release from the district attorney. It also found employees had a little more than an hour during which they could have evacuated from the Erwin, Tennessee, industrial park. The conclusion mirrors that of a similar investigation by the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration that found in April that workers had time to evacuate the premises, albeit by makeshift routes.
A statement from Impact Plastics attorney Stephen Ross Johnson on Friday said company president and founder Gerald O'Connor welcomes the results of the TBI investigation.
'The true and accurate facts are now known,' the statement reads.
Five employees and one contractor who cleaned the offices once a week were killed on Sept. 27 after they were washed away by floodwaters. They were among 12 people who stuck close to the Impact Plastics building, waiting for the water to recede, after realizing the exit road was already submerged. When the water kept rising, they climbed onto the bed of a semitrailer loaded with giant spools of plastic piping that was parked outside the factory. When floodwaters eventually overwhelmed the truck, six people were able to use the piping for flotation and were later rescued. The other six drowned.
The TOSHA report notes that several Impact Plastics employees did escape the flood. Some were able to drive or walk over an embankment to a nearby highway after workers at a neighboring business dismantled a fence there. Others escaped by driving over a makeshift path onto nearby railroad tracks that an employee at a neighboring business created with a tractor. Still others were able to escape by walking to the railroad tracks, according to that report.
Although the criminal case is being closed, the company still faces a wrongful death lawsuit from the family of Johnny Peterson, and other civil suits are planned.
Attorney Luke Widener, who represents the families of several flood victims, said in a statement that they 'categorically disagree that Impact Plastics employees were given any meaningful opportunity to escape. ...Indeed, if Impact Plastics' account were true, Bertha Mendoza, Sibrina Barnett, and the others who perished would still be with us."
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The Guardian
40 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Idaho students' killer sentenced to life in prison for 2022 murders
Bryan Kohberger was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday for the murders of four University of Idaho students, a crime that shocked the quiet college town of Moscow nearly three years ago. Judge Steven Hippler ordered Kohberger to serve four life sentences without parole for four counts of first-degree murder in the brutal stabbing deaths. He was also given a 10-year sentence for burglary and assessed $270,000 in fines and civil penalties. At the time of the killings, Kohberger was pursuing graduate studies in criminology at Washington State University, located just across the state line. Prosecutors say he entered the students' rental house through a sliding kitchen door and murdered the four victims, with no apparent personal connection to any of them. The case initially baffled investigators. With no suspects, fear spread quickly across the community. Many students from both Washington State and the University of Idaho opted to leave town mid-semester, shifting to remote classes amid growing anxiety about a killer still at large. Investigators were eventually able to piece together events based on the sheath for a large knife recovered near Mogen's body, containing a single trace of male DNA on its button snap. Surveillance footage also captured a white Hyundai Elantra circling the area around the house close to the time of the killings. Utilizing genetic genealogy, authorities linked the DNA to Kohberger. Phone records placed him near the crime scene that night, and online purchase history revealed that he had previously bought a military-style knife and a matching sheath. The sentencing hearing allowed the families of Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Kaylee Goncalves to speak publicly about the devastation they have endured since 13 November 2022, the day their loved ones were found fatally stabbed in an off-campus home. Alivea Goncalves, sister to Kaylee, spoke directly to Kohberger and said: 'You want the truth? Here's the one you'll hate the most. If you hadn't attacked them in their sleep, in the middle of the night like a pedophile, Kaylee would have kicked your fucking ass.' She went on to refer to Kohberger as 'pathetic'. Her statement was met with a standing ovation from the courtroom. Steve and Kristi Goncalves, Kaylee's parents, were also among those who delivered victim impact statements. The Goncalves family had expressed disappointment in the past that Kohberger would not be facing the death penalty. 'The state is showing BK mercy by removing the death penalty. BK did not show Kaylee ANY mercy … If your 21yr old daughter was sleeping in her bed and BK went into her house with the intention to kill her and he did, by stabbing her MANY times, as well as beating her in the face and head while it was clear that she fought for her life ... what would you want?' Kristi had written on Facebook earlier this month, the day after the plea hearing for Kohberger. Kristi told her daughter's killer in court that 'hell will be waiting' for him. 'You are nothing. May you continue to live your life in misery. You are officially the property of the state of Idaho, where your fellow inmates are anxiously awaiting your arrival,' she said. Scott Laramie, stepfather to Maddie Mogen, read a statement on behalf of himself and Karen Laramie, Mogen's mother. 'Karen and I are ordinary people, but we lived extraordinary lives because we had Maddie. Maddie was taken senselessly and brutally in a sudden act of evil,' he said. 'Since Maddie's loss, there's emptiness in our hearts, home and family, an endless void.' Laramie went on to say that the family supports the plea agreement because 'society needs to be protected against this evil'. Randy Davis, Xana Kernodle's stepfather, addressed the other victims' families, saying this was probably the last time they would all be gathered in the same room. 'I love you all and I feel your pain,' he said. He then addressed Kohberger directly, shaking while he spoke: 'You're gonna go to hell … you're evil ... you took our children … you are gonna suffer, man.' He concluded by telling Kohberger to 'go to hell', a statement that was met with clapping. Kim Kernodle, Xana Kernodle's aunt, said in her statement: 'This is probably gonna bother everybody, but Bryan, I'm here today to tell you I've forgiven you, because I could no longer live with that hate.' She continued by telling Kohberger that 'any time you want to talk and tell me what happened … I'm here, no judgment.' After listening to the statements from victims' families, Kohberger chose not to address the court, saying 'I respectfully decline' when asked to speak. Kohberger was taken into custody in Pennsylvania nearly six weeks after the slayings. During his arraignment, he declined to enter a plea, prompting the judge to do so on his behalf: not guilty. The Latah county prosecutor Bill Thompson announced early on that he intended to pursue the death penalty. In response, Kohberger's defense team, led by Anne Taylor, contested the reliability of the DNA evidence and asked repeatedly for the death penalty to be taken off the table. These legal challenges proved unsuccessful as Kohberger ultimately agreed to plead guilty. In exchange, prosecutors dropped their pursuit of capital punishment. The plea deal includes four life sentences to be served back-to-back, an additional 10-year sentence for burglary and a waiver of Kohberger's right to appeal.
Daily Mail
43 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Bryan Kohberger files reveal terrifying new evidence including signs of a practice run a MONTH before murders
Bryan Kohberger 's victims saw a man lurking in the trees outside their home and found their front door mysteriously open one month before the killer struck, according to newly-released police records. Moscow Police Department released a trove of 314 previously-sealed records related to the investigation into the November 13, 2022, murders of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin on Wednesday afternoon - just hours after the mass killer was sentenced to a lifetime behind bars. Within the huge document dump, new details emerged about the police investigation which ultimately led to the capture and conviction of 30-year-old criminology student. In a bombshell revelation, the records show that the roommates at 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho, had experienced disturbing incidents at the home just one month before the murders. Goncalves had told at least two friends that she had seen a man watching her in the trees around the home. Surviving roommate Dylan Mortensen - who bravely spoke out in Wednesday's sentencing hearing - told police Goncalves described seeing the 'shadow' when she took her pet dog Murphy outside. Another friend echoed this accounts, telling police Goncalves had seen a dark figure staring at her from the tree line when taking Murphy outside. Mortensen, who was 19 at the time, also recalled one time when she came home to find the door to their three-story house open. The survivor told police Goncalves had also mentioned someone following her around two or three weeks before her murder. The other friend, whose name is redacted in the documents, told police they would make 'lighthearted talk and jokes' about a possible stalker - but that the girls 'were slightly nervous about it being a fact.' The friend also said she knew the front door of the home had issues with locking and sometimes could be unlocked without a code. Around that same time, a female student living on Queen Road - close to the King Road home - said a man tried to break into her home. At around 1am on October 14, 2022, the woman heard what she thought was a man walk up to her door and try to open it, the police records reveal. But the door was locked with the deadbolt on. It is not clear if the incidents are related and if it is possible Kohberger was carrying out a practice run for the murders one month later. It is also unclear if the man Goncalves saw was Kohberger surveilling the victims' home, or if he may have broken into the home prior to the night of his attack. But the details of these bizarre incidents come as prosecutors have been able to confirm Kohberger was surveilling the home for some time. From July 2022 through to November 13, 2022, Kohberger's phone placed him in the vicinity of the King Road home at least 23 times, mostly at night. Who Kohberger was watching and why he chose the home - and the students inside - only he knows. Despite his guilty plea and sentencing, the killer's motive and target for the murders remain a mystery. Speaking at a press conference after the sentencing, Moscow Police Corporal Brett Payne told reporters that while they know Kohberger 'targeted' that house, they still don't know why. 'The evidence suggested that there was a reason that this particular house was chosen. What that reason is, we don't know,' he said. Investigators also remain in the dark about whether one or more of the victims inside the home was his intended target. Around one month after these incidents, Kohberger broke into the student home and stabbed the four victims to death. At around 4am, he entered through the back sliding door on the second story of the property and went straight up the stairs to Mogen's bedroom on the third floor. He found her and Goncalves sleeping in her bed and fatally stabbed the 21-year-old best friends. On his way back downstairs or on leaving the property, he encountered Kernodle on the second floor, who was still awake on TikTok, having just received a DoorDash food order. Kohberger attacked the 20-year-old with his knife and then also murdered her boyfriend Chapin who was asleep in her bed. Kohberger then left through the same back sliding door of the property, passing Mortensen who had been woken by the noise and peeked around her bedroom door. Mortensen - the sole person who came face-to-face with the killer that night and made it out alive - described seeing a masked man, dressed in all black and with bushy eyebrows. Terrified, she and roommate Bethany Funke - whose bedroom was on the first floor - frantically called and text each other and their four friends. But the victims were already dead. Mortensen ultimately ran down to Funke's room where the two survivors stayed until daylight. Just before midday - still unable to contact the four victims - they called friends round to the home and the bloodbath was discovered. The newly-unsealed documents reveal harrowing new details about the injuries Kohberger inflicted on his victims. One officer on the scene described seeing Kernodle's body on her bedroom covered in blood, with defensive wounds to her hands, including a deep gash between her finger and thumb. 'It was obvious an intense struggle had occurred,' the officer wrote. 'There was blood smeared on various items in the room and all over the floor.' She had suffered more than 50 stab wounds. Chapin was partially covered with a blanket in her bed, with his jugular severed, the police files said. On the floor above, officers found the bodies of Mogen and Goncalves. As well as more than 20 stab wounds, Goncalves' face was so badly damaged she was 'unrecognizable.' Mogen had wounds to her forearm, hands and a gash from her right eye to her nose. Both were covered in blood, which had covered the pink blanket they were sharing. Kohberger left behind a Ka-Bar leather knife sheath next to Mogen's body. DNA on the clasp was traced back to the killer using Investigative Genetic Genealogy. Surveillance footage on multiple homes and businesses close to King Road had also captured his white Hyundai Elantra driving to and from the crime scene at the time of the murders. Kohberger was arrested on December 30, 2022, at his parents' home in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania. After more than two years of fighting the charges, Kohberger finally confessed to the murders in a change of plea hearing earlier this month. He was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in an emotional hearing on Wednesday, where the families and friends of the victims were finally able to confront the man who slaughtered their loved ones while they slept. Dressed in orange prison garb with his wrists and ankles shackled, the 30-year-old stared blankly at the families showing not even a flicker of emotion or remorse. When it was his chance to speak, he maintained his silence. 'I respectfully decline,' he said boldly when asked by Judge Hippler if he would like to take the opportunity to address the court. Those were the only three words he spoke, keeping the victims' families in the dark about the murders. Kohberger has now been transferred to the custody of the Idaho Department of Correction, which will determine which prison will become home for the rest of his life. Due to the severity of his crime - and the high-profile nature of the case - Kohberger is expected to be sent to the state's only maximum security facility, Idaho Maximum Security Institution.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Afghan translator who worked for US military detained by Ice in Connecticut
An Afghan wartime translator granted a US immigration visa after risking his life to help US troops has been detained by masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents, in the latest sign that the Trump administration is willing to flout legal agreements and promises to allies in pursuit of its unprecedented immigration crackdown. Identified only as Zia S, the 35-year-old husband and father of five who entered the US in October 2024 with a visa issued by American authorities was arrested and taken away in a van last week after a routine biometrics appointment for his green card in East Hartford, Connecticut, according to his attorney, members of Congress and human-rights advocates. A judge has issued a temporary stay preventing Zia's removal from the US, but he remains in detention at a facility in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The former wartime interpreter fled Afghanistan with his family after the Taliban takeover in 2021. Zia legally entered the US in October 2024 through New York's JFK airport with humanitarian parole – and an approved special immigrant visa (SIV). This visa is a pathway to permanent residency, or a green card, for certain foreign nationals who have worked for the US government or military in specific capacities, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan. 'What happened to him is the worst kind of abhorrent violation of basic decency,' said the Democratic senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut on Tuesday. 'He actually worked and risked his life in Afghanistan to uphold the values and rights that are central to democracy.' Zia is the third known Afghan ally who helped US troops to have been seized by Ice since Trump returned to power, amid growing outrage at the administration's actions. Jahana Hayes, a Democratic member of Congress for Connecticut, said she had been contacted by Zia's family because they didn't know where Ice had taken him. 'Our credibility is at stake. We have families who have risked everything not just for themselves, but for their entire family … in the name of standing up for the promises of our American democracy,' Hayes said. In a statement to Reuters, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the Afghan national entered the US on 8 October 2024, and is under investigation for a 'serious criminal allegation', adding: 'All of his claims will be heard by a judge. Any Afghan who fears persecution is able to request relief.' Zia's attorney Lauren Petersen said she had no idea what the DHS was referring to. 'Zia has done everything right. He's followed the rules. He has no criminal history,' said Petersen, adding that he was approved for humanitarian parole due to a direct threat from Afghanistan's Taliban rulers. 'If he is deported … he faces death.' Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion More than 70,000 Afghans were granted permission to enter the US under Joe Biden's 'Operation Allies Welcome' initiative, which followed the bungled US exit and subsequent Taliban takeover in 2021. Some, like Zia, have a SIV and pathway to permanent residency, while about 12,000 or so have temporary protected status (TPS) – a type of work visa granted to people already in the US who cannot return to their home countries due to armed conflicts, natural disasters or other extraordinary events. The Trump administration is seeking to terminate TPS status for multiple countries including Venezuela, Haiti and Afghanistan – despite ongoing unstable and dangerous conditions in those countries.
