Wis. student who faked abduction gets probation

Wis. student who fakedabduction gets probation
MADISON, Wis. -- Audrey Seiler, the University of Wisconsin-Madison student who faked her abduction, was sentenced today to three years' probation after she pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts.
Seiler read a statement during the hearing in which she attributed the ordeal to severe depression that caused her to act irrationally.
"I'm taking care of myself now, so someday people will see I'm still a girl to be proud of," said Seiler, who withdrew from school after the widely publicized incident and is in therapy. Seiler, 20, pleaded guilty to two counts of obstructing officers as part of a plea agreement. She nodded softly as Dane County Circuit Judge James Martin ticked off the conditions of her probation. They include reimbursing the Madison Police Department $250 a month during her probation, an amount that could increase to $400 a month if she graduates during her probation and gets a job.
Woman testifies Petersonnever said he was married
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. -- Scott Peterson, on trial for the murder of his pregnant wife, talked incessantly about sex and never mentioned he was married, according to a woman who met him at an agriculture conference and later introduced him to his mistress.
Shawn Sibley testified Wednesday that Peterson told her when they first met that he had "lost" his first love. But most of the conversation that night was about sex.
"We'd be talking about something else and he'd bring up sex," she said. "He did ask me my sexual preferences ... sexual positions ... but he was kind of joking."
Sibley later introduced Peterson to his future girlfriend, massage therapist Amber Frey.
Prosecutors say it was that affair that drove him to kill Laci Peterson.
Sibley said she "freaked" when she learned through an acquaintance that Peterson was married.
She called him and confronted him. "He kept denying it," Sibley said.
Inappropriate attire
MORRISTOWN, N.J. -- A man accused of job hunting at day care centers while clad in a soiled diaper and pink stretch pants will avoid jail time.
Authorities say William Rhode III, 53, unsuccessfully tried to get work at five different centers in four area communities Feb. 12. He was arrested later that day and had been housed since then in the county jail's psychiatric unit. Rhode, who now lives in a homeless shelter, had been indicted on seven counts of child endangerment. The county grand jury said his behavior constituted sexual conduct and that children at all five centers saw him.
Rhode was freed Tuesday after pleading guilty to a disorderly persons charge. He was sentenced to five years probation and must undergo a psychiatric evaluation and receive any recommended counseling. He also must stay away from children.
Frozen body found
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Climbers poking around a high-elevation camp on Mount McKinley discovered a human foot sticking out of the snow. Rangers dug out the frozen corpse of a man who died 35 years ago. Park Service spokeswoman Maureen McLaughlin said the body was that of Gary Cole, 32, of Cody, Wyo., who died of acute mountain sickness June 19, 1969.
Identification was made by his wedding band and a watch with a calendar dated June 1969, the Park Service said. The grim discovery was made Friday, said Kris Fister, a Denali National Park spokeswoman. While looking for supplies at a storage area at the camp site, climbers noticed what looked like climbing gear in the snow, Fister said. A closer look revealed it was a foot in a sock.
Marching for democracy
HONG KONG -- Hundreds of thousands of people marched through downtown Hong Kong today, demanding full democracy and venting anger at China's Communist leaders for denying them the right to directly elect their government. About 530,000 people participated, according to protest organizers, while police said they counted 200,000 people partway through the rally, which lasted a little more than five hours.
"Only democracy can save Hong Kong," said 65-year-old Cheuk Kuang. "The Communist government is intervening too much in Hong Kong and it's trying to shut down all opposition voices."
The march came on the seventh anniversary of the former British colony's handover to Chinese sovereignty and a year after a protest by a half-million people stunned China's leaders and forced Hong Kong's government to withdraw an anti-subversion bill that many viewed as a threat to freedoms.
Associated Press