Latest news with #LincolnCountySheriff'sOffice
Miami Herald
6 days ago
- General
- Miami Herald
Lie led to innocent man's murder conviction, MO cops say. Now detective charged
An investigator lied in court to help secure a murder conviction of an innocent man in his wife's 2011 killing, Missouri officials said. Investigator Michael Merkel is accused of lying in court and now faces two counts of perjury in a criminal trial to secure conviction of murder, according to a criminal complaint filed on June 3. McClatchy News reached out to Merkel's attorney but did not immediately receive a response. In 2011, Russ Faria came home to find his wife, Betsy Faria, dead with approximately 55 stab wounds and a knife in her neck, the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office said in a probable cause statement. The husband was accused of killing his wife and was later convicted of first-degree murder in 2013, according to the law firm representing him, Rosenblum Schwartz Fry & Johnson. Faria had served two years of his life sentence when the verdict was reversed and he was acquitted of the murder charge at a second trial in 2015, according to the attorneys. During the investigation, detectives found what they believed to be a bloody paw print from the family dog on the woman's pants at the crime scene in December 2011, according to the statement. When the husband arrived at the Troy home, however, the family dog was in the backyard, deputies said. Investigators believed the person who killed Betsy Faria took the dog outside after she was stabbed, the probable cause said, and blood was cleaned up from the path between the victim and the patio door. In January 2012, investigators hoped to prove their theory by using a 'Bluestar' chemical reagent to see if blood had been cleaned up from the scene of the killing, court documents said. Photos were taken at the scene. A reaction occurs when blood interacts with the reagent, officials said in court documents. Photos were taken when the reagent was used, according to the probable cause statement. This investigation led the husband to be indicted by a grand jury, the probable cause said. During the high-profile trial, Merkel was asked what the photos showed. He replied 'absolutely nothing' and said the camera used to take the photos had malfunctioned, prosecutors said. However, the camera did not malfunction and there were approximately 130 photos taken at the crime scene, deputies said. During Faria's second trial, Merkel said his 'absolutely nothing' comment did not indicate that the photos showed nothing, but rather no chemical luminescence as a result of the chemical reagent, the probable cause said. Three of the photos did show chemical luminescence, which indicates blood is present due to the reaction with the reagent, the probable cause said. This contradicted Merkel's statement. None of those areas were marked and further tested by investigators, according to court documents. Instead, different pieces of the floor from where the chemical reaction occurred were cut out and removed from the home for testing, but there was no blood present on those pieces, prosecutors said. 'In contrast, the areas that did exhibit the most obvious signs of potential blood evidence were ignored entirely,' the probable cause statement said. Now, Betsy Faria's friend, Pamela Hupp, is accused of murdering the woman, prosecutors said in a 2021 news conference posted by KSDK. Her trial is scheduled next year, the outlet said. Merkel faces up to life in prison if convicted of perjury. Troy is about a 55-mile drive northwest from St. Louis.
09-05-2025
- Health
Asbestos clinic forced to close in Montana town where thousands sickened by dust
BILLINGS, Mont. -- An asbestos screening clinic in a small Montana town where thousands have been sickened by toxic dust from a nearby mine has been abruptly shuttered by authorities following a court order to seize the clinic's assets to pay off a judgment to the railroad BNSF. The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office closed on Wednesday the Center for Asbestos Related Disease in Libby, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the U.S.-Canada border. The town of about 3,000 people is near a mine that produced asbestos dust for decades, and the clinic has been at the forefront of efforts to help victims. Courts in Montana have said BNSF contributed to the pollution when it brought contaminated material from the mine through town, and the railway separately faces numerous lawsuits from asbestos victims in Libby and surrounding communities. But the Texas-based railway prevailed in a 2023 lawsuit alleging the clinic fraudulently made some patients eligible for government benefits when it knew they were not sick. The railway challenged the validity of over 2,000 diagnoses by the clinic and 337 were ruled false. The railway brought the lawsuit on behalf of the federal government, which provides specialized Medicare services to Libby's asbestos victims. BNSF was entitled to a share of the $6 million judgment against the clinic, and after adding in attorney fees, court costs and interest, the railway says it's now owed $3.1 million. 'The judge determined the amount of damages to be repaid, and the process for recovery is set by law," BNSF spokesperson Kendall Kirkham Sloan said in a statement. Clinic Executive Director Tracy McNew said the closure would have a broad impact on public health in the Libby area as fewer people are screened for asbestos-related health problems. 'CARD remains committed to its patients and the Libby community and will fight to reopen as soon as possible,' McNew said in a statement. The clinic for more than 20 years has provided health screenings, monitoring and treatment of patients with problems caused by asbestos exposure. It declared bankruptcy after the judgment in the fraud case was handed down. It kept operating and didn't pay the money under a settlement reached in bankruptcy court with the federal government that included BNSF. CARD bankruptcy attorney James 'Andy' Patten said the railway's attempts to collect on the fraud judgment violated the bankruptcy settlement, which was approved by a federal court.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Yahoo
Deputies searching for missing man in Lincoln County
The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office is searching for a man who has been missing since last month. Deputies said Barett Ashley Baxter was last seen on April 26 on Alf Hoover Road. ALSO READ: Tracking bracelet helps locate missing people with mental health challenges He was wearing a T-shirt, jean shorts, and tennis shoes, according to deputies. Deputies said Baxter is believed to be driving a black 2021 Toyota Tundra Crew Max truck with a license plate that reads VER9384. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to contact the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office at 704-732-9050. VIDEO: Tracking bracelet helps locate missing people with mental health challenges
USA Today
13-04-2025
- USA Today
Woman who reportedly fostered 200 kids accused of leaving girl at exotic animal collector
Woman who reportedly fostered 200 kids accused of leaving girl at exotic animal collector Brenda Ruth Deutsch was given a bond of $250,000. Show Caption Hide Caption National Child Abuse Awareness Month The month of April is National Child Abuse Prevention month. Learn more about the immediate and long-term effects on a child's physical and mental health. Fox - Ktvu A Missouri woman is facing abuse and neglect charges after being accused of paddling and abandoning a girl with an exotic animal collector in Texas. Brenda Ruth Deutsch, 70, was arrested on April 7 and charged with two counts of abuse or neglect of a child, and one count of endangering the welfare of a child, Missouri court records show. The alleged crimes involved a girl under the age of 18, and occurred between Sept. 1, 2022, and Jan. 1, 2025, in Lincoln County, Missouri, a criminal complaint reads. In a probable cause statement obtained by USA TODAY, a peace officer with the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office wrote that the allegations against Deutsch were sparked by an anonymous tip received by the state Department of Social Services on Nov. 26, 2024, reporting alleged physical and mental abuse of a child. Deutsch has fostered more than 200 children over the last 15 to 20 years, Lincoln County Prosecutor Mike Wood told NBC News and KSDK. According to the prosecutor and court documents, Deustsch is also being investigated in connection with allegations of leaving the girl she's accused of abusing with a fellow exotic animal collector in Texas and refusing to take her back. Deutsch was given a bond of $250,000, Missouri court records show. She did not have a defense attorney listed in court records on Saturday. Girl told authorities Deutsch 'hit her with a lot of different things' During a mobile forensic interview on Dec. 4, 2024, the middle school-aged girl told authorities Deutsch "hit her with a lot of different things," the probable cause statement says. The girl described some of the objects as a paddle, trim and shoes, the court document says. The girl also alleged that Deutsch "smacked" her on the nose so hard one time it caused it to bleed, according to the probable cause statement. The girl told authorities that she spoke to multiple people about the abuse but no one believed her. The girl recalled an incident when one of Deutsch's family members held her down while Deutsch hit her on her bare bottom with a paddle, the probable cause document says. She said the hitting stopped when she stopped moving and was just quiet, so she just stayed still so the hitting would stop, according to the court filing. Girl reported missing from school, located in Texas The girl's absence from school in Missouri sparked an investigation Feb. 6, 2025, the probable cause document states. The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office was told she was with the collector in Texas, according to the probable cause document. When an investigator contacted the Eastland Sheriff's Office in Texas, he spoke with the girl who said she was enrolled in school there, the probable cause document states. Authorities then spoke to the individual who was keeping the girl in Texas, and she claimed to be friends with Deutsch and helping her out because she and the child "were not getting along," the court document says. The woman also said she didn't wish to keep the child, but was forced to because Deutsch would not pay for a plane ticket to get the girl back home, the probable cause document says. The girl told deputies with the Eastland Sheriff's Office that the woman she was staying with didn't abuse her, but left her alone at the Texas home for a few days at a time to take care of her exotic animals, according to the court document. The woman would do this when she was out of town for work. Court docs: Girl barely had clothes, did not eat much while at Deutsch's home When speaking to authorities during a second forensic interview, the girl said Deutsch would take her clothes and belongings and put them in Goodwill boxes so she could donate them, according to the court document. This led to the girl barely having any clothing. The girl also said she was not fed well while at Deutsch's home, so she had to resort to stealing food because her daily sandwiches were not enough, the probable cause document says. She added that she didn't feel safe at the Deutsch's house and "ran away a lot" but always had to go back. The child told authorities that when Deutsch told the woman in Texas she could keep the girl, the foster mother said she'd "be keeping the check," per the probable cause document.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Dissmissed Waldport mayor removed from city council meeting, cited for disorderly conduct
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Waldport's former mayor Heide Lambert had to be removed from a city council meeting Thursday after she took a seat at the city council meeting and refused to move, authorities said. According to the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office, leading up to the meeting, there had been concern about a disruption from the former mayor after she was removed from her post by the council earlier in April. Lambert was removed from office after city staff said she created a hostile work environment, demanding that they follow her direction when under the City Charter, she had no authority over them. Search suspended for Kaylee Birt, missing woman in Harney County In a statement from the Waldport City Council, they shared that the former mayor's actions could be a cause for legal concern. 'We have never had an elected city official treat staff this way. What may seem like a minor incident is actually a serious legal concern. Hostile work environment complaints lead to staff leaving positions, to costly lawsuits against the city, and to a near stop in city operations. In January, each of us, including Mayor Lambert, swore to uphold the Waldport City Charter and the Oregon and United States Constitutions. We take that pledge seriously.' At the meeting Thursday night, authorities said Lambert took a seat at the council's table and made a statement. She was asked several times by council members to leave, but officials said she refused and hindered the meeting. Members from the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office attempted to remove Lambert peacefully, explaining the legal consequences. Officials said she continued to refuse. Eventually, Lambert was escorted outside and cited for disorderly conduct before being released, where she was able to return to the meeting and sit in the public seating area. 'We recognize this event has caused concern and strong emotions within our community,' the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office said in a statement. 'Our office does not take such actions lightly. Regardless of a person's status or position, the law applies equally to everyone. When a lawful order is issued and refused, our duty is to uphold the law while maintaining order and safety.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
