You Figure It Out
In 2010, Kristine and Michael Barnett of Lafayette, Ind., adopted a 6-year-old Ukrainian-born girl, Natalia Grace, who had dwarfism. Nine years later, much to their confusion, they were charged with abandoning her. Within their first few weeks as a family, the Barnetts noticed that Natalia seemed to be older than they had been told and had a sophisticated vocabulary. A doctor ordered bone density tests to check her age, and results suggested she was at least 14. So they began to treat her like a teenager. Then, the Barnetts claim, Natalia began making death threats against them. At a psychiatric hospital where she was treated, she told doctors she was much older and wanted to kill her family. “She was standing over people in the middle of the night. We had to hide all the sharp objects,” Kristine Barnett said. In 2012, they legally changed her age (from 8 to 22) and helped her get benefits so she could continue to receive psychiatric care. In 2013, with Natalia living independently in an apartment, the Barnetts and their son moved to Canada. Soon after, they lost touch with the girl. But inexplicably, a second set of bone density tests, performed in 2010, surfaced, arguing that Natalia was at that time just 8 years old. And it was learned that she told police herself in 2014 that she had been “left alone” when her parents moved to Canada. Michael and Kristine Barnett surrendered to the Tippecanoe County Sheriff’s Department on Sept. 18 and 19, charged with abandonment of Natalia.
Here’s Your Ring
Izaebela Kolano, of Nutley, N.J., pulled a fast one on Costco employees in two stores, police said. Kolano first visited a Costco in Wayne, N.J., where she allegedly stole a $2,000 diamond ring. Then, authorities say, she went to a store in nearby Clifton, where she asked to see a $28,000 diamond ring and handed back the $2,000 ring, which was similar in appearance. Costco employees didn’t notice the switcharoo until Kolano was out of the building. Police found Kolano at home, recovered the ring and charged Kolano with theft.
Mixed Reviews On Box Hats
In the Mexican state of Tlaxcala, high school instructor Luis Juarez Texis inflamed the ire of parents when he made students wear cardboard boxes (with cut-out eye holes) on their heads as they took an exam in order to deter cheating. Parents are calling for Texis’ removal, saying the boxes amounted to “acts of humiliation, physical, emotional and psychological violence.” Others, however, applauded Texis’ idea, with one saying the boxes “teach them a great lesson.” Texis told reporters the students consented to the anti-cheating method.
The Devil Made Him Do It
Jeremiah Ehindero, pastor of the Jesus Miracle Church in Sango-Ota, Nigeria, blamed the devil for his trouble with the law after he stole an SUV from a local Toyota dealership. Ehindero negotiated a price for the Highlander, which he said would be used for “evangelism.” He then asked for a test drive — and never came back. He later sold the vehicle to a spare parts dealer for $1,650. According to police, Ehindero confessed he stole the car to repay a loan from a microfinance bank in Lagos after tithes and offerings from his congregation proved to be insufficient. “When the pressure from the microfinance bank became unbearable for me, the devil told me to steal a vehicle from the car dealer to sell and use the proceeds to repay the loan. I regret my action.” Ehindero and his accomplices were arrested in Ondo State.
Inexplicable
Uber driver Yasser Hadi of Atlanta was going about his business, dropping off a fare, when a woman “came out of nowhere, threatened to kill him, and then violently bit him.” Hadi told the station: “She’s acting weird, she’s acting wild, and she’s on the car hitting it, telling me I need to die …” Next the woman climbed inside the car, and scratched and bit Hadi as he tried to pull her out. “I said, ‘God, just let her take my flesh, I don’t care.’ I want her to go away from me.” Later, Atlanta police arrested Tasheena Campbell, who already had a warrant for an assault charge, for battery and criminal trespass. But Hadi is left with a damaged car, medical expenses and no insurance. “She’s hit me in my job, my health and my financial pocket money. It’s hard,” he explained.
‘Person-First’ Language
Ex-cons, juvenile delinquents and drug addicts are getting new monikers in San Francisco, thanks to the Board of Supervisors’ new “person-first” language guidelines. For example, someone just released from prison will be called a “justice-involved person”; a repeat offender will be a “returning resident.” People on probation will be “persons under supervision.” The under-18 criminal crowd will be known as “young people impacted by the juvenile justice system.” Those suffering from addiction will be “people with a history of substance use.” Words such as “convict” and “inmate” … “only serve to obstruct and separate people from society and make the institutionalization of racism and supremacy appear normal,” the board’s resolution reads. “Referring to them as felons is like a scarlet letter,” Matt Haney, board supervisor, said.
MAID OF HONOR OPTS FOR A T-REX COSTUME
Just Don’t Wake Me Up
Police in Hamilton Township, N.J., say an 80-year-old woman snoozed right through a carjacking even though she was in the car. The victim told police she had fallen asleep in her car parked in her driveway around 9 pm. She called police around 4 am to say she woke up on the driveway and her car was gone, but she had no recollection of what had happened. The car was recovered later that day in Trenton. The search is still on for suspects.
Crime Report
In Oronoco Township, Minn., police responded to a burglary in progress to find that alleged thief Kirsten Hart had scuffled with a 64-year-old woman before making off with pill bottles, debit and credit cards, $150 in cash and a fake $1 million bill. Hart had run out of the house with part of her shirt ripped off; that led a passing motorist to ask if she was hurt and needed a ride. Hart accepted, climbing into the trunk of the car. The driver later told police he realized something wasn’t right but panicked and drove off. Police said they found iPads stolen from a local STEM school in Hart’s car. She and an accomplice face multiple charges.
Are We Married Or Not?
Paul Nixon, 51, is sought in Harris County, Texas, on charges of felony aggravated perjury after taking a novel approach to divorce. Nixon filed for divorce in February, but forged his wife’s signature and the name of a notary on the legal papers. A judge declared the divorce final in April — but the wife didn’t find out until May, when she noticed Nixon’s strange spending habits. “She started finding things showing that he was spending money on jewelry, so she confronted him and he told her that they were actually divorced,” Constable Mark Herman said. “They are still married. The fraudulent divorce papers have been retracted.” Nixon, who could face 10 years in prison, has so far eluded police.
We Can Work It Out
A graffiti artist in Frankston, Australia, has been painting the Melbourne suburb purple with a message to someone named Chris, saying “u need 2 talk 2 me B4 baby is born, or don’t bother after.” The messages have appeared on several public spaces, such as sidewalks and the sides of buildings. Frankston Mayor Michael O’Reilly said the city council “would encourage those involved to consider more constructive, and less illegal ways of communicating in the future … I hope Chris and this mystery person can work through their issues.”
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