American believed to be last person to see missing US student left the Dominican Republic
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Joshua Riibe, a senior at St. Cloud University in Minnesota who is believed to be the last person to see missing University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki in the Dominican Republic, left the Caribbean country on Wednesday, his lawyers said.
Following a trial exceeding five hours, Judge Edwin Rijo ruled Wednesday that Riibe, classified as a witness in a disappearance case, should have full rights under Dominican law and unrestricted freedom of movement.
It was not immediately clear where Riibe traveled after leaving the Dominican Republic.
According to a statement from Guzmán Ariza, Abogados Consultores, the law firm representing the Riibe family, the La Altagracia prosecutor's office offered to return Joshua's passport. 'While appreciating the offer, Joshua opted to obtain a new passport from the U.S. consulate for privacy reasons, which was expedited,' the law firm said.
Riibe had been detained by Dominican police, but on Tuesday judge Rijo ordered his release, saying he could cooperate with authorities without being detained. He was not named as a suspect.
According to the transcript of an interview with prosecutors, reported by Dominican media as well as NBC and Telemundo, Riibe told police he was drinking with Konanki on the beach and they were kissing in the ocean when they got caught in a current. Riibe said he was a former lifeguard and helped bring her ashore.
He told investigators he vomited upon reaching the beach and that Konanki said she was going to fetch her things. When he looked up, she was gone. He said he was later surprised to hear of her disappearance.
On Monday, Konanki's parents asked Dominican authorities to declare their daughter legally dead.
Subbarayudu and Sreedevi Konanki said in a letter that after an extensive search, local authorities believe that Sudiksha, 20, drowned.
'Initiating this process will allow our family to begin the grieving process and address matters related to her absence,' they wrote. 'While no declaration can truly ease our grief, we trust that this step will bring some closure and enable us to honor her memory.'
Michael Chapman, sheriff of Loudoun County in Virginia, where the Konankis live, said in a statement Tuesday that officials have been working with Dominican authorities and continue to review evidence in the case.
'The disappearance of Sudiksha Konanki is tragic, and we cannot imagine the grief her family has been feeling,' he said. 'Sudiksha's family has expressed their belief that she drowned. While a final decision to make such a declaration rests with authorities in the Dominican Republic, we will support the Konanki family in every way possible.'
Sudiksha Konanki and five female friends had traveled to the Caribbean nation on March 3 for spring break. Police said she disappeared at a beach by her hotel before dawn on March 6.
Konanki was born in India and later became a U.S. permanent resident.
____
Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
28 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Consultant on trial for AI-generated robocalls mimicking Biden says he has no regrets
LACONIA, N.H. (AP) — A political consultant told a New Hampshire jury Wednesday that he doesn't regret sending voters robocalls that used artificial intelligence to mimic former President Joe Biden and that he's confident he didn't break the law. Steven Kramer, 56, of New Orleans, has long admitted to orchestrating a message sent to thousands of voters two days before New Hampshire's Jan. 23, 2024, presidential primary. Recipients heard an AI-generated voice similar to the Democratic president's that used his catchphrase 'What a bunch of malarkey' and, as prosecutors allege, suggested that voting in the primary would preclude voters from casting ballots in November. 'It's important that you save your vote for the November election,' voters were told. 'Your votes make a difference in November, not this Tuesday.' Kramer, who faces decades in prison if convicted of voter suppression and impersonating a candidate, said his goal was to send a wake-up call about the potential dangers of AI when he paid a New Orleans magician $150 to create the recording. He was getting frequent calls from people using AI in campaigns, and, worried about the lack of regulations, made it his New Year's resolution to take action. 'This is going to be my one good deed this year,' he recalled while testifying in Belknap County Superior Court. He said his goal wasn't to influence an election, because he didn't consider the primary a real election. At Biden's request, the Democratic National Committee dislodged New Hampshire from its traditional early spot in the 2024 nominating calendar but later dropped its threat not to seat the state's national convention delegates. Biden did not put his name on the ballot or campaign there but won as a write-in. Kramer, who owns a firm specializing in get-out-the-vote projects, argued that the primary was a meaningless straw poll unsanctioned by the DNC. At the time the calls went out, voters were disenfranchised, he said. Asked by his attorney, Tom Reid, whether he did anything illegal, Kramer said, 'I'm positive I did not.' Later, he said he had no regrets and that his actions likely spurred AI regulations in multiple states. Kramer, who will be questioned by prosecutors Thursday, also faces a $6 million fine by the Federal Communications Commission but told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he won't pay it. Lingo Telecom, the company that transmitted the calls, agreed to pay $1 million in a settlement in August. The robocalls appeared to come from a former New Hampshire Democratic Party chair, Kathy Sullivan, and told voters to call her number to be removed from the call list. On the witness stand earlier Wednesday, Sullivan said she was confused and then outraged after speaking to one of the recipients and later hearing the message. 'I hung up the phone and said, 'There is something really crazy going on,'' she said. 'Someone is trying to suppress the vote for Biden. I can't believe this is happening.' Months later, she got a call from Kramer in which he said he used her number because he knew she would contact law enforcement and the media. He also described his motive — highlighting AI's potential dangers — but she didn't believe him, she testified. 'My sense was he was trying to convince me that he'd done this defensible, good thing,' she said. 'I'm listening to this thinking to myself, 'What does he thing I am, stupid?' He tried to suppress the vote.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Atlanta rapper Silentó gets 30 years after pleading guilty to killing his cousin
DECATUR, Ga. (AP) — Silentó, the Atlanta rapper known for his hit song 'Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae),' pleaded guilty but mentally ill Wednesday to voluntary manslaughter and other charges in the 2021 shooting death of his 34-year-old cousin. The 27-year-old rapper, whose legal name is Ricky Lamar Hawk, was sentenced to 30 years in prison, DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston said in a statement. Hawk also pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, possessing a gun while committing a crime and concealing the death of another. A murder charge was dropped as part of the plea agreement. DeKalb County police found Frederick Rooks III shot in the leg and face in the early morning hours of Jan. 21, 2021 outside a home in a suburban area near Decatur. Police said the found 10 bullet casings near Rooks' body, and security video from a nearby home showed a white BMW SUV speeding away shortly after the gunshots. A family member of Rooks told police that Silentó had picked up Rooks in a white BMW SUV, and GPS data and other cameras put the vehicle at the site of the shooting. Silentó confessed about 10 days later after he was arrested, police said. Ballistics testing matched the bullet casings to a gun that Silentó had when he was arrested, authorities said. Rooks' brothers and sisters told DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Courtney L. Johnson before sentencing that Silentó should have gotten a longer sentence, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The rapper was a high school junior in suburban Atlanta in 2015 when he released 'Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)" and watched it skyrocket into a dance craze. Silentó made multiple other albums, but said in an interview with the medical talk show 'The Doctors' in 2019 that he struggled with depression and had grown up in a family where he witnessed mental illness and violence. 'I've been fighting demons my whole life, my whole life,' he said in 2019. 'Depression doesn't leave you when you become famous, it just adds more pressure,' Silentó said then, urging others to get help. 'And while everybody's looking at you, they're also judging you." 'I don't know if I can truly be happy, I don't know if these demons will ever go away.' Silentó had been struggling in the months before the arrest. His publicist, Chanel Hudson, has said he had tried to kill himself in 2020. In August 2020, Silentó was arrested in Santa Ana, California, on a domestic violence charge. The next day, the Los Angeles Police Department charged him with assault with a deadly weapon after witnesses said he entered a home where he didn't know anyone looking for his girlfriend and swung a hatchet at two people before he was disarmed. In October 2020, Silentó was arrested after police said they clocked him driving 143 miles per hour (230 kilometers per hour) on Interstate 85 in DeKalb County. Hudson said at the time of Silentó's arrest in the killing of Rooks that he had been 'suffering immensely from a series of mental health illnesses.'
Yahoo
40 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Gang violence displaced a record 1.3 million people in Haiti, UN report finds
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Gang violence has displaced a record 1.3 million people across Haiti as the local government and international community struggle to contain the spiraling crisis, according to a new report released Wednesday. The U.N.'s International Organization for Migration warned of a 24% increase in displaced people since December, with gunmen now having chased 11% of Haiti's nearly 12 million inhabitants from their home. Much of the gang violence remains centered in Port-au-Prince, but more than 230,000 people alone have been left homeless as gunmen continue to lay siege in the two largest regions north of the capital, officials said. 'We need to act urgently. The strength of the Haitian people is humbling, but resilience cannot be their only refuge,' Amy Pope, IOM's director general, said in a statement. The number of makeshift shelters also has skyrocketed by more than 70%, from 142 to 246, with much of the increase reported in Haiti's once peaceful central region. The IOM noted that for the first time, regions outside Port-au-Prince have more shelters than the capital, given the ongoing violence in towns like Mirebalais and Petite Rivière. Overall, more than 80% of those displaced are staying with friends or family, although in Port-au-Prince, the majority of those displaced are staying in crowded and unsanitary makeshift shelters that include abandoned government buildings. 'Many now face life without access to health care, schools, and clean water, leaving already vulnerable families struggling to survive,' according to the IOM. Hours after the report was released, officials with the U.N, the Inter American Development Bank and Haiti's government and civil society gathered behind closed doors to talk about the situation. 'The crisis…is only getting worse,' Bob Rae, president of the U.N.'s Economic and Social Council, said ahead of the meeting. He and other officials said it's not enough to only tackle Haiti's security crisis. Gangs that control at least 85% of Port-au-Prince are recruiting a growing number of children in the deeply impoverished country. 'Without development, we have no security, without security, we have no development,' Rae said. A U.N.-backed mission led by Kenyan police is helping Haitian authorities fight gangs, but it remains underfunded and understaffed, with only some 1,000 personnel out of the 2,500 envisioned. Rae stressed that the international community is looking beyond the U.N. Security Council for help, saying that more bilateral talks are needed with the U.S., the U.K. and countries in Africa, Europe and the Caribbean. He also said talks are ongoing with the Organization of American States, which has been prodded to help. On Monday, Leslie Voltaire, one of seven voting members on Haiti's transitional presidential council, praised the OAS's new secretary general for his commitment to help Haiti, but issued a warning. 'Haiti cannot contemplate dialogue with terrorists,' he wrote on X, referring to armed gangs. 'Peace cannot be built by making a pact with terrorists.' ____ Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at
