Latest news with #WBBH
Miami Herald
08-07-2025
- Miami Herald
Teen dies defending 5-year-old sister in home invasion, FL cops say. Man sentenced
A man accused of fatally stabbing a 15-year-old boy trying to protect his little sister during a home invasion has now been sentenced to death, according to Florida authorities. After a jury convicted 33-year-old Ryan Cole of first-degree murder, burglary with battery and burglary of a structure, a Charlotte County judge imposed the death penalty on July 7. Cole's public defender petitioned the judge to override the jury's recommendation of the death penalty, arguing he suffered from substance abuse, schizophrenia and a psychotic disorder, and he was remorseful for the killing of 15-year-old Khyler Edman. The judge rejected the plea and went with the jury's recommendation. On Sept. 26, 2019, Cole spent his last $40 on heroin and methamphetamine, injected the drugs and broke into a Port Charlotte home where Khyler Edman was home alone with his 5-year-old sister, according to prosecutors and deputies with the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office. The kids' mom told deputies she could monitor her children through a home surveillance system while she was at work, and that day, she saw on Facebook that there were alerts of someone suspicious in the area, according to the arrest affidavit. The mom tried to reach her kids several times through the surveillance system before her 5-year-old daughter appeared in the camera frame and said her brother was dead and they needed an ambulance, deputies said. Investigators said they pieced together from interviews and surveillance footage that Cole walked up to the family's home and tried to pry open the door, commenting that it seemed to be 'reinforced,' deputies wrote in the affidavit. According to investigators, he walked away and grabbed a tool before eventually breaking in through another door as the 15-year-old armed himself with a knife from the kitchen, his sister told investigators. The two started fighting, then Cole got his hands on the knife and stabbed the 15-year-old in the chest and stomach before leaving him to die on the living room floor, authorities said. Before Edman's death was discovered, a woman called 911 to report there was a bleeding man armed with a large knife in her car port, according to deputies. Investigators said they learned Cole jumped in a canal and broke into another home, stole a child's boxing glove and was discovered by the homeowner in the backyard. Deputies who responded to the area heard a woman screaming, and they found Edman's mom. 'I yelled please help. Somebody killed my son,' his mother said during testimony broadcast by WBBH. The teen died of four stab wounds to his torso, according to the autopsy. After Cole was released from the hospital and booked in jail, he told investigators he doesn't remember what happened that day after doing the drugs, deputies said. In a sentencing memorandum asking the judge for mercy, Cole's attorney argued he was under the influence of drugs and was experiencing psychosis during the incident. Cole said during a statement in court that he thinks about his actions every day. 'As we have said through my trial, I am responsible, and I own that,' he said. 'There is no doubt that I am sincerely sorry for what happened. I truly, truly am. And I hope the family of this young man can find it in their hearts one day to forgive me for this tragedy.' Edman was passionate about the outdoors and was a student in the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps at his high school, family wrote in his obituary. 'Khyler Edman was a kind, intelligent and caring young man who deeply loved his family and life,' his aunt said in court, according to broadcast from WINK. His family said the teen enjoyed fishing, going to the beach, riding bumper cars and going on bike rides with friends. 'Mostly, he is known for his unselfishness, always putting others before himself,' family wrote in his obituary. 'Khyler will always hold the title of an awesome big brother to his siblings, especially his sister. He was kind, caring, loving, and will be missed by many.' Port Charlotte is on Florida's Gulf Coast, about a 30-mile drive northwest from Fort Myers.
Miami Herald
16-06-2025
- General
- Miami Herald
Mysterious metal object on FL beach is 80-year-old war relic. What is it?
After a puzzling 100-pound object washed up on a Florida beach, a deputy with a military background recognized it for what it was: an old bomb. The rusty piece of ordnance turned out to be an unexploded World War II era practice bomb, a spokesperson for MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa told McClatchy News on June 16. The bomb was discovered at Englewood Beach, prompting curiosity from passersby until a deputy with a military background identified it, the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office said. Jim Jackson told WBBH his grandchildren spotted the item on the beach from a condo. 'I first thought, this is a scuba tank, maybe,' he told the outlet. Then a couple days later, he said a deputy told him what it really was. Law enforcement evacuated the area as bomb squads came in to evaluate the item, eventually determining it didn't pose a threat. MacDill's explosive ordnance disposal team tried to transport it to the base to use as a training aid, but it essentially disintegrated, the spokesperson said. The airdrop bomb could have come from air force teams practicing over the Tampa Bay area during the World War II time period, which coincides with the base's completion in 1941, according to the spokesperson. It's also not the first time military ordnance has washed ashore in the area. MacDill advises anyone who sees what they suspect could be unexploded ordnance to contact local law enforcement. Englewood is about a 30-mile drive south from Sarasota.
7NEWS
15-06-2025
- Health
- 7NEWS
Girl's hand ‘mostly torn off' in terrifying shark attack
A mother has recalled the horror she experienced in the moments after her young daughter was attacked by a shark. Nine-year-old Leah Lendel was bitten as she snorkelled off Boca Grande, Florida, on Wednesday, leaving her with severe injuries. Lendel's family told NBC affiliate WBBH the girl went underwater and as she came up, she started screaming. Her mother, Nadia, who was about 1.5 metres away with her two toddlers, said she saw that Leah's hand was covered in blood.. When Nadia looked over at her daughter, the family said she saw her daughter's right hand covered 'up to the wrist, all in blood and mostly torn off'. Nadia proceeded to scream for help as she ushered her three kids to shore, the family said. Meanwhile, Leah's dad, who'd been snorkelling 'some distance away', swam 'as fast as possible to shore', the Lendels said. Leah was able to walk out of the water as nearby construction workers rushed to help. 'She was walking outside with [her] hand out bleeding, like really bad. So [a co-worker] put a towel on it to stop the bleeding. And I called 911,' Raynel Lugo, one of the workers told WINK News. Witnesses the shark was about 2.4 metres in length. Police body camera from the scene shows first responders treating Leah moments after the attack. 'Hey there sweetheart, you're being very brave,' one can be heard saying in the video. Leah was airlifted to a hospital in Tampa. Nadia, a blogger with over 97,000 followers on Instagram, said she underwent a six-hour operation and is recovering well after doctors put her hand back together. 'They had to get arteries from her leg to the hand. Got the blood flow back to her hand. Install pins in bones. Still has open tissues. They will be monitoring her here for a week. But thank God she can move her fingers,' Nadia said. 'This is truly a MIRACLE,' the mother-of-five captioned a picture of her next to her daughter's hospital bed. Max Derinskiy, an uncle of Leah's who created a GoFundMe campaign to help with medical expenses, told NBC News that she will remain in the hospital for a while and then faces 'a lot of physical therapy to hopefully get her hand functioning again'. 'The doctors worked miracles and were able to put her hand back together,' he said.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Experts stunned by discovery partially buried deep in the Florida Everglades: 'There's only two things that will do that'
Wildlife officials in Collier County have been investigating a mysterious death in the Everglades, and they now say their findings are good news when it comes to managing invasive species. Back in December, biologists were tracking pythons near Naples, in pursuit of a 13-foot-long, 52-pound male Burmese python named Loki. Loki was what the team called a "scout snake," fitted with a transmitter for monitoring. Expecting to find Loki "shacked up with a big fertile female during breeding season," the team intended to "remove and euthanize" female snakes and their egg follicles to keep the invasive snake population under control. What they found was something out of a police procedural, per WBBH. "Very quickly we figured out he's dead, and it turned into a bit of a crime scene to some degree — CSI crime scene, wildlife," quipped biologist Ian Bartoszek. Loki was found with his "head and neck gnawed off" and his "body partially buried," an animal behavior wildlife experts call "caching" — hiding and storing a food source for ongoing use. Bartoszek quickly put two and two together after assessing the scene. "There's only two things that will do that, to my knowledge — a bobcat and a panther," WFLA quoted him as saying. In conjunction with the United States Fish & Wildlife Service, the team placed trail cameras at the site, and soon enough, the culprit — a bobcat — returned to the scene of the crime. According to Bartoszek, the whodunit amounted to a "win" in terms of conservation. As the name suggests, invasive species — whether flora or fauna — throw ecosystems out of whack, to the detriment of native plants and animals. Non-native organisms are not invasive by default; invasive species adapt readily to a new environment, reproduce quickly, and "outcompete" their native neighbors. Should the government be paying people to hunt invasive species? Definitely Depends on the animal No way Just let people do it for free Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. "A 25-pound cat killed and cached a 52-pound python? That's a win for the home team," Bartoszek began. "We all tend to like animals that punch above their weight class." "Here was a native animal pushing back against an invasive apex predator," he added. "The Everglades is fighting back. That gives me hope." Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Not here': Neighbors push back against proposed Buc-ee's in Southwest Florida
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. (WFLA) — News of a proposed Buc-ee's location in Southwest Florida has some residents dreaming of chowing down on Beaver Nuggets and using 'the cleanest restrooms in America,' but not everyone is excited about the idea. The sprawling gas station and convenience store may be built off Interstate 75 in Charlotte County, pending local government approval. Man survives alligator attack before being fatally shot by Polk County deputies: sheriff Residents of the nearby Harbour Heights community told NBC affiliate WBBH that the proposed development just isn't right for the neighborhood. 'I have nothing against Buc-ee's, but I just, it does not belong there,' Rebecca Scholl said. Neighbor Drema Doolittle concurred, saying, 'This is just not the place for it. It's not the land for it. I'm sure Southwest Florida would welcome a Buc-ee's, it's just not here.' Scholl said the proposed development is within the coastal high hazard area and flood plain. Some neighbors fear that developing the land will make flooding even worse than what they saw from last year's hurricanes. Some worry the construction will encroach on important wildlife habitat. 'This Buc-ee's that's being proposed would be abutting or being right next to an area that the locals call the bayou. It's a nursery for the smalltooth sawfish and other fish,' neighbor Edie Driest told WBBH. The proposed development has sparked concerns from some and excitement from others, but it has a long way to go until it becomes reality. 'Until they're actually breaking ground and we're sitting there eating Beaver Nuggets, it's still just a potential project,' planning and zoning official Shaun Cullinan told WBBH last month. The potential Buc-ee's faces a hurdle on Tuesday, when the county's board of commissioners meets to discuss the proposal. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
