Latest news with #Courier&Press
New York Post
4 days ago
- General
- New York Post
Indiana man, 77, calmly calls cops to report he had just killed his wife, mother-in-law and stepson and injured 4th victim: ‘I shot them all'
A 77-year-old Indiana man calmly called police moments after he allegedly shot his wife, mother-in-law and two stepsons — killing three of them — to report the horrific crime. Patrick Waite is facing three counts of first-degree murder for the shooting deaths of his wife, mother-in-law and stepson and one count of attempted murder for gravely wounding his other stepson, according to a police affidavit and reports. Waite is accused of methodically shooting his 61-year-old wife Alma and her family, going from room to room to blast each victim in the Haubstadt home they shared, police said. Patrick Waite is facing three counts of first-degree murder for the shooting deaths of his wife, mother-in-law and stepson Gibson County Sheriff After he opened fire on all four victims, Waite called 911 to explain what he had done, where he would be when officers arrived and where investigators could find the .45-caliber Smith & Wesson he used to gun down his relatives, according to reports. 'I shot them all. I'm certainly not proud of that fact,' he said in a chilling but casual confession, according to an affidavit acquired by the Courier & Press. In addition to his wife Alma, Waite allegedly killed her 81-year-old mother Gloria Tapia and her 39-year-old son Fernando Tapia Ramirez Sr. He allegedly shot Alma's other son, 44-year-old Juan Tapia Ramirez, in the neck and chest. 'There have been multiple individuals shot at this time,' a 911 operator can be heard relaying to officers. 'I believe it's four individuals. This is still an active situation. We are talking to the shooter now.' Waite reportedly hurried the 911 operator off the phone so that he would have enough time to call his children and 'tell them what he did' before the cops arrived to arrest him, Det. Jennifer Loesch wrote in the affidavit. The alleged killer surrendered peacefully, according to reports. Four other people were in the home when he went on his murderous rampage and survived the shooting unharmed, including a child, The Herald reported. Waite had gone out to shoot a watersnake near a lake on his 1.5-acre property that afternoon, and when he came back inside the house, he had his gun in his back pocket, officials said. That's when an ongoing and wide-ranging argument between him and his wife – who had recently been asking for a divorce – reignited, authorities said. Waite said his wife of two years told him 'he needed to leave' because he brought a gun into the house, detectives wrote. Initially, the disagreement was about his attendance at bible study, then how he was neglecting his bedridden mother-in-law, and finally it became about who owned the home, according to reports. 'Patrick Waite said Alma Waite told him she filed a quitclaim deed and put their home in her daughter's name,' the affidavit states. 'Patrick Waite stated he told her he wouldn't leave the house because he had lived there for 27 years.' That's when Waite started shooting. He told investigators that he knew what he did was wrong and that God would never forgive him, according to reports. 'I'm as guilty as guilty can be,' he reportedly said. Veronica Valenzuela, a cousin of the victims, told Bakersfield Now that she was shocked by the murders, and added that Waite had always seemed like a kind person. She and her family spent a month in the house with them in the last year. Patrick Waite, 77, surrendered to police peacefully after calling 911 to tell them that he had shot four people — killing three — in the house where they lived together, police said. Christopher Sadowski 'He catered to us,' she said of Waite. 'He wouldn't let us get up to get a cup of coffee. He took us out to dinner. He took us out to casinos.' 'He was, I can't lie. Man was a very nice person, but never imagined something like this to happen. Alma was his world,' she added. Her aunt Gloria, Alma's mother, had recently suffered a stroke and was in her medical bed when Waite shot her, Valenzuela said. The surviving stepson, Juan Ramirez, remains sedated in critical condition, Valenzuela told Bakersfield Now. Valenzuela started a GoFundMe to help with the funeral costs. Waite made his first appearance in court Monday morning by video at the Gibson County jail. Waite, who has no prior arrests or criminal convictions listed in Indiana court records, is being held without bond, according to reports. He pleaded not guilty to all the counts. His attorney, Scott Danks, told local news outlets that he had no comment.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Messmer has no apparent plans for public events during two-week recess
EVANSVILLE — Members of Congress are back in their districts for a two-week recess — but if 8th District Rep. Mark Messmer is planning a mobile office hours event or a town hall, he's not publicizing them. Messmer's congressional Facebook page is replete with messages celebrating such events as Air Force Reserve Day, National Gold Star Spouses Day, Palm Sunday and Passover. There are well wishes for families affected by severe weather in Princeton, photos of Messmer with a delegation of Japanese visitors to Toyota, an offer to help constituents navigate federal agencies and a call-out for high school students to compete in the Congressional Art Competition. But there was no mention on Wednesday morning of any public events in the next two weeks. Same deal on Messmer's X account and congressional website. No shortage of content, but also no mention of looming public events. More: Anti-Messmer rally in Evansville targets Trump and Musk Emails and phone messages from the Courier & Press to Messmer aides in Washington, D.C. and Evansville went unanswered on Monday. Messmer, a Republican elected last year to succeed longtime Rep. Larry Bucshon, is not alone among Republicans in Congress, although he may stand out in the way one of his recent mobile office hours events blew up. Messmer's staff asked employees at the Boonville Public Library to call the police on constituents during a mobile office hours event — even though the mostly older attendees weren't breaking any rules, the library said. If not holding town halls were the only accessibility issue swirling around Messmer, he wouldn't be so unusual among House Republicans. Saying rowdy Democratic activists are packing town halls held by Republican House members in order to make GOP policies look unpopular, House Speaker Mike Johnson suggested in March that tele-town halls would be a good alternative for Republican members to hear from constituents. NBC News reported Monday that, "according to press releases and publicly posted event notices, the majority of town halls and town hall-style events taking place over the congressional recess will be hosted by Democrats." Messmer also has refused to speak to the Courier & Press, which serves by far the largest county in his 21-county district. Why? He sent the newspaper an email saying it reported he didn't debate his 2024 election opponents when he did. More: Messmer revisits 2024 campaign to explain his silence Messmer cited a single joint public appearance with his two opponents, an Aug. 25 Posey County Farm Bureau event that they called a candidate forum lacking any opportunity for rebuttal among candidates. Other than that event, which occurred three weeks after the Indiana Farm Bureau's political action committee endorsed Messmer, he would not appear on the same stage with his opponents. It all baffles Robert Dion, a University of Evansville political scientist who says Messmer could blunt vocal opposition from opposition activists and reassure other constituents by biting the bullet and appearing in public often — not going radio silent. "It's kind of surprising that there's been this much unhappiness about his performance, but he's not helping," Dion said. "He could run a charm offensive if he wanted to." Dion, who moderated two of Bucshon's town hall meetings, said Messmer could refute the perception that he hides from the public by engaging with constituents and media and by holding frequent town hall meetings. "Even if there were a few testy exchanges, if you make frequent visits to the district, including open town halls — if you make those a routine occurrence, then they lose any sort of novelty or power," Dion said. "The more you do it, the easier it gets." Messmer could ask attendees to write down their questions and have a moderator read them aloud, a tactic the UE political scientist said shaved several decibel points off the more confrontational questions directed at Bucshon. Dion said any seasoned politician — Messmer served 16 years in the Indiana Legislature — should know how to handle the public confrontations, press scrutiny and harsh criticism that comes with holding elected office. Like most members of Congress, Messmer is regularly trolled on social media by people who — as Dion acknowledged — didn't vote for him and never will. The UE political scientist quoted the Federalist Papers, a collection of essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay in 1787 and 1788: "As it is essential to liberty that the government in general, should have a common interest with the people; so it is particularly essential that the branch of it under consideration, should have an immediate dependence on, & an intimate sympathy with the people," the Federalist Papers state. "The House member is the one member of the federal government who is closest to the people, the most reachable," Dion said. "And Messmer seems to be the opposite of that. He's unreachable." This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Messmer has no apparent plans for public events during two-week recess
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Messmer to hold telephone town hall Tuesday; opponents are ready for it
EVANSVILLE — Under fire from his political opponents for a perceived lack of accessibility, 8th District Congressman Mark Messmer plans to show up Tuesday night. Well, kind of. Messmer isn't going to hold a public town hall, but he does plan to stage a live telephone town hall meeting from 5 p.m. CST to 6 p.m. Tuesday. The purpose: "to discuss the issues most important to YOU," states Messmer's social media. Those who want to participate can sign up to do so here, on a link that offers them the chance to "speak directly to Rep. Mark Messmer" if they will first provide their names, phone numbers and zip codes. More: Dems think they have a shot at winning 8th District in 2026 -- and a possible candidate Messmer would not speak with the Courier & Press when the newspaper asked him by email to discuss his objectives with the event, the points he anticipates making and his counter to political opponents who say he is inaccessible. He did send an email in return. "I look forward to hearing from my constituents and discussing important issues affecting Hoosiers in the 8th District," it stated. Accessibility to constituents and media has emerged as an issue with Messmer. Messmer's staff asked employees at the Boonville Public Library to call the police on constituents during a mobile office hours event — even though the mostly older attendees weren't breaking any rules, the library said. Messmer also has refused to speak to the Courier & Press, which serves by far the largest county in his 21-county district. Why? He sent the newspaper an email saying it reported he didn't debate his 2024 election opponents when he did. Messmer cited a single joint public appearance with his two opponents, an Aug. 25 Posey County Farm Bureau event that they called a candidate forum lacking any opportunity for rebuttal among candidates. Other than that event, which occurred three weeks after the Indiana Farm Bureau's political action committee endorsed Messmer, he would not appear on the same stage with his opponents. In March, hundreds of people attended an anti-Messmer rally in Evansville at which the first-term Republican congressman was pilloried for not having held a town hall meeting three months into his tenure. More: Anti-Messmer rally in Evansville targets Trump and Musk But most of those people are Democratic activists who likely never voted for Messmer and never will, said Khyle Moers, chairman of the Vanderburgh County Republican Party. It doesn't mean voters as a whole are disenchanted with Messmer. "He's certainly visible, and I think members of his office are pretty available," Moers said. "I think some of the people that are really critical of, just all of our elected officials in general — and I'm talking to people that have like, really hyper-critical, very outspoken opinions of our elected officials — it's typically the same folks over and over again. There are people in those groups that you're just not going to make happy with anything that you do." 8th District Democratic Chairman Dave Crooks told the Courier & Press in March that Democrats think Messmer already has made himself politically vulnerable over the accessibility issue. The people who will attend an Indivisible Evansville event at McCollough Public Library to coincide with Messmer's telephone town hall may not be happy with anything he says. Indivisible is encouraging supporters to register to speak with Messmer. They call their event "A Mass Call-In for Real Accountability." "Rep. Mark Messmer is holding a 'tele-town hall' where he controls who speaks, screens out tough questions, and avoids the public eye," Indivisible states on Facebook. "While he hides behind a phone line, we're showing up together to demand answers, speak truth, and make our voices impossible to ignore." More: Messmer has no apparent plans for public events during two-week recess It's not as if Messmer will get no representation at the event. The opposition activists say he will be represented by a large milk carton, a criticism meant to say he is missing and can't be found. "We'll be together in one space, amplifying our concerns and exposing the truth: Messmer is still missing from the communities he claims to represent," their statement said. This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Messmer to hold telephone town hall Tuesday; opponents are ready for it
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
National Weather Service is 'sure' a tornado hit Vanderburgh County on Wednesday
EVANSVILLE – The National Weather is "sure" a tornado of some kind ripped through Vanderburgh County during a barrage of storms Wednesday night. During a conference call Thursday morning, lead forecaster Justin Gibbs with the Paducah, Kentucky-based office said radar captured a "tornado debris signature" in parts of the city and county. That's when pieces of dirt or other detritus get thrown into the air and show up on radar. It's often a sign a tornado has touched down. It's too early to say how big the suspected twister may have been. "The intensity of which we'll evaluate, but it may be several days," Gibbs said. He didn't specify which storm the signature came from. Vanderburgh County fell under multiple tornado warnings Wednesday. One particularly strong storm charged in from Southern Illinois and sliced across the northwestern parts of the county around 8 p.m. About an hour later, a similar storm cut an almost identical path. And then there was a bowing wall of straight-line winds that wrecked portions of the Southeast Side. Judging from the damage found by Courier & Press reporters, it was likely one of the first two. Downed power lines, uprooted trees and fallen branches littered roadways in the northern locales of Vanderburgh. The highway department reported at least 20 road closures due to debris and damage Thursday morning, all of which were to the north or west. Those included Mesker Park Drive north of Diamond Avenue and portions of Harmony Way and Red Bank Road, among others. University Parkway and Big Cynthiana Road weren't among the list of closures, but properties along them took some hard hits, too. Luckily, Wednesday was likely the peak for severe weather in the Tri-State this week, Gibbs said. Unluckily, we're still days away from escaping danger. Potentially historic amounts of rain could pummel the area between now and Saturday evening. As of Thursday, Gibbs expected an additional 6-8 inches to fall on Evansville before it's all said and done. That will be on top of the .86 inches the city got in a matter of hours Wednesday night. Normally in April, the city gets about one inch a week. It could lead to potentially "catastrophic" flash flooding, the NWS said. That's especially a concern Saturday, when a giant system is expected to loiter over the area and lash us with rain. Thursday morning brought us a few dry hours: a welcome reprieve that could make a difference before the heavier rainfall arrives. "But we're gonna have to be on alert pretty much constantly for the next couple days," Gibbs said. This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Did a tornado hit Evansville on Wednesday?
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Messmer's office wanted Boonville library to call police on constituents; director said no
EVANSVILLE – Staff members with Rep. Mark Messmer's office asked employees at the Boonville Public Library to call the police on constituents during a mobile office hours event – even though the mostly older attendees weren't breaking any rules, the library's director confirmed Wednesday. Director Brooke Bolton told the Courier & Press she refused the request. 'We told them that (the constituents) had not broken any of the rules of our library and we would not call the police unless the rules of our library were being broken,' she said. 'I didn't see or witness anything that was hostile.' The event took place from 1-3 p.m. Tuesday at the library in Boonville. Mobile office hours usually provide voters a chance to speak to representatives of their elected officials and express concerns. Two staffers for the Eighth District Republican were at the library, but they repeatedly declined to meet with more than one constituent at a time, an attendee told the Courier & Press. Bolton said the request to contact authorities came not from the staffers on hand, but via a phone call to the library from a Washington, D.C. area code. She identified the person she spoke with as Michael Curcio. The website LegiStorm lists Curcio as Messmer's chief of staff. A spokesperson for Messmer didn't respond to a request for a comment Wednesday. It's just the latest bit of silence from the congressman, who has repeatedly declined to speak to the Courier & Press. Kristina Bickle, founder of Evansville Resistance, was one of about 15 people in attendance Tuesday. She took several videos of exchanges with Messmer's staff that she forwarded to the Courier & Press. She said the trouble started when she and others wanted to meet with the reps as a group so everyone could hear their questions or concerns. But the staffers refused, only agreeing to meet with people one at a time in a room so tiny she described it as a 'closet.' 'They had picked the smallest room in the building,' she said. '… They wouldn't let married couples go in together.' According to Bickle, the staffers turned down several offers from library workers to move them to a larger room so they could accommodate more people. Eventually they gave in and shifted to a conference room, but they still wouldn't let in more than one person at a time. Bickle said the Messmer staffers barred all recording devices and kept the door closed anytime a constituent came inside. 'We just felt like that was not right. Nobody was getting loud or hostile, but everyone was very, very upset about this situation,' she said. 'One man was crying – not so much about the situation, but that his constitutional rights had been violated. Meaning our country is in trouble.' She believes the staffers asked the library to call police so it wouldn't look like the request was coming from Messmer's office. And it was all for a group "that was mostly senior citizens." "That's absurd," she said. Most of the videos from Bickle show constituents standing outside the original room and asking the Messmer staffers to meet with the entire group at once. Bickle said the group voted, and all of them wanted a public meeting instead of private conversations. In one video, a man and two women repeatedly ask the staffers – a woman and young man – to come out. 'Nobody wants a one-on-one meeting out there,' the man says, gesturing toward the other attendees. '… We've got people here who are going to walk away if it's not a public meeting." 'OK,' a staffer says. In another, a different man with gray hair and a flannel shirt addresses them. 'You should be here to talk to us. We've called Messmer's office and we don't get any answers,' he says in an even tone. '… Let's go to a place where we can all talk. We'll be civil.' According to the videos, the exchanges are largely calm and never reach the point of screaming or arguing. They do, however, show some moments of frustration. At one point, as the staffers continue to evade a group discussion, an elderly woman interjects. 'It's about time you Republicans grew some damn balls,' she says. Another video shows Bolton – who had to be called in on her day off – addressing the attendees as they wait outside the hall. She reminds them the library has no say over where Messmer staffers meet and thanked the constituents for being respectful to library staff. She told the Courier & Press Messmer's office reserved that specific small room. They were told how many people it could hold. The people at the library Tuesday aren't the only ones struggling to get answers from Messmer. Earlier this month, he didn't respond to multiple messages from the Courier & Press asking him his thoughts on potential Medicaid cuts that could affect thousands of people in his district. He dodged another interview in December, with a spokesman saying he would only take questions written in advance. During last year's election, he declined to debate his opponents and didn't have any public events in Evansville. He hasn't announced plans to hold a town hall, either. Those have been hard to come by in the Evansville for years. Courier & Press archives show that Messmer's predecessor, Rep. Larry Bucshon, only had five of them in the city during his 14 years in office. And according to a report from Politico earlier this month, the head of the National Republican Congressional Committee has ordered GOP officials not to stage any town halls in the near future. In Messmer's absence, some Evansville residents plan to have a 'people's town hall' instead. The 'Messmer's Missing' rally is scheduled for March 22 at 1 p.m. in front of the congressman's local office at 20 NW Third St. In a news release, organizer Wendy Bredhold said residents are encouraged to bring any written comments they have for the congressman. They'll then be passed along to his office the following Monday. If Messmer agrees to hold an actual town hall, she said, they'll cancel the event. 'Elected officials should be accessible to the people they serve, yet he refuses to face his constituents,' the release states. 'We're showing up anyway.' Bickle said she told Messmer's staffers about the protest as the library event ended Tuesday. They left promptly at 3 p.m., she said, even though some constituents were still waiting to speak to them. 'I feel like he's forgotten he works for us,' she said. This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Messmer's office wanted Boonville library to call police during event
