Slain atheist's remains buried at secret site
Slain atheist's remainsburied at secret site
SAN ANTONIO -- The remains of atheist leader Madalyn Murray O'Hair have been buried at a secret central Texas site, the San Antonio Express-News reported today.
The Friday burial of O'Hair's remains, along with those of her son and granddaughter, ended a six-year saga involving their abduction, robbery and killing.
William Murray, O'Hair's estranged son, said he honored his mother's instructions about disposition of her body.
"She was cremated. No one prayed over her," Murray said.
American Atheists, the organization O'Hair founded three decades ago, had denounced Murray as an inappropriate person to bury America's most famous atheist. Murray is a fundamentalist minister.
The 76-year-old O'Hair disappeared in 1995 along with her son Jon Garth Murray, 40, and her 30-year-old granddaughter Robin Murray O'Hair. Their dismembered and burned remains were found in January in a mass grave west of San Antonio.
Police were led to the grave by David Waters, O'Hair's former office manager, who has admitted kidnapping and killing the three to obtain $600,000 in gold coins owned by O'Hair.
Waters pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge as part of a plea bargain and was scheduled to be sentenced Friday in Austin. Prosecutors want Waters to be sentenced to life in prison.
White supremacist gets life for rampage
LOS ANGELES -- In a courtroom filled with sobbing victims, white supremacist Buford O. Furrow apologized and blamed mental illness for the 1999 shooting spree in which he killed a postal worker and wounded five people.
"I want to try, although it is impossible, to convey my deep sorrow," Furrow said Monday, reading a statement before he was sentenced. "I think about what happened every day and I will grieve for it every day for the rest of my life."
U.S. District Judge Nora Manella imposed two life sentences without possibility of parole, plus 110 years in prison and payment of $690,294 in restitution.
"Your actions were a reminder that bigotry is alive," the judge told him. "If you've sent a message, it is that even the most violent crimes can strengthen a community."
On Aug. 10, 1999, Furrow stormed into the North Valley Jewish Community Center, which was packed with children attending day programs, and fired more 70 bullets. Three boys, a teen-age girl and a woman were injured.
He then headed into the San Fernando Valley neighborhood and killed Filipino-American mailman Joseph Ileto, who was shot nine times.
Busboy charged in plot to defraud celebrities
NEW YORK -- A restaurant busboy who reportedly tried to assume the identities of wealthy Americans and siphon $22 million from their bank accounts was charged with fraud Monday by federal prosecutors.
Abraham Abdallah, 32, remains in custody on $1 million bail on state charges of criminal impersonation, forgery and fraud. Authorities said last week that he tried to assume the identities of Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, Martha Stewart and Warren Buffett.
Federal prosecutors on Monday alleged that Abdallah tried to steal about $22 million from individuals, corporations and financial institutions from September to March.
The suspect appeared briefly in federal court, where his lawyer, Samuel Gregory, said his client is not accused of actually succeeding in the alleged plots.
Prosecutors said personal and financial information belonging to many of Abdallah's potential victims was found in his possession when he was arrested March 7.
Murderer executed
SAN QUENTIN, Calif. -- Double-murderer Robert Lee Massie was executed by injection early today after spending 28 years as a condemned man, longer than any inmate now on death row in California.
Massie, who had spent 21 years seeking to overturn his convictions, formally dropped his appeals last year to protest what he called the snail's pace of the California death penalty system.
Massie, 59, pumped his fist to help his executioners find a vein, and told the warden he was ready to die. "Forgiveness: giving up all hope for a better past," were his last words.
Massie was sentenced to death for the 1979 murder of a San Francisco liquor store owner.
Associated Press