Missouri mother convicted in case of Internet hoax

Missouri mother convicted in case of Internet hoax

LOS ANGELES — A Missouri mother on trial in a landmark cyberbullying case was convicted Wednesday of only three minor offenses for her role in a mean-spirited Internet hoax that apparently drove a 13-year-old girl to suicide.

The federal jury could not reach a verdict on the main charge against 49-year-old Lori Drew — conspiracy — and rejected three other felony counts of accessing computers without authorization to inflict emotional harm.

Instead, the panel found Drew guilty of three misdemeanor offenses of accessing computers without authorization. Each count is punishable by up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine. Drew could have gotten 20 years if convicted of the four original charges.

Hitler bookmark found

SEATTLE — Authorities have recovered a stolen 18-karat gold bookmark that reportedly was given to Adolf Hitler by his longtime mistress, Eva Braun.

Christian Popescu, a Romanian national, was arrested Tuesday outside a Bellevue Starbucks after trying to sell the bookmark to an undercover agent for $100,000, according to papers filed in U.S. District Court.

Federal prosecutors said the bookmark was among several items taken in an auction-house heist in Madrid, Spain, six years ago. At the time, some antiquities experts questioned its authenticity.

The bookmark is engraved with a portrait of Hitler as well as an imperial eagle and swastika, and its inscription indicates that Braun gave it to Hitler to console him after German forces surrendered at Stalingrad.

Caylee case update

ORLANDO, Fla. — Someone performed Internet searches for “neck breaking” and “household weapons” on the home computer of a Florida mother charged with killing her missing 3-year-old daughter, according to court documents released Wednesday.

The Orange County State Attorney’s office released almost 800 pages of discovery documents in the case of 22-year-old Casey Anthony, who has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and other charges in the June disappearance of her daughter, Caylee.

Ohio woman keeps tabs on Brian Williams’ ties

NEW YORK — Each night after watching Brian Williams deliver the “NBC Nightly News,” an English teacher in Ohio is moved to go to her computer and write — about what Williams wore around his neck. The Brian Williams Tie Report Archive isn’t the weirdest thing you’ll find online, but it’s up there. It’s a snarky, occasionally appreciative and flat-out funny read. “People must think, ‘This poor woman must be one of those stalker freaks,’ but it can’t be any further from the truth,” said Nance Donnelly, author of the blog, who will only say she lives in Northeast Ohio.

Associated Press