Judge orders mistrial in Travolta extortion case
Judge orders mistrial in Travolta extortion case
NASSAU, Bahamas — A judge has ordered a mistrial in the case of a reported extortion attempt against John Travolta, and a top court official said Thursday a new trial is not likely to start before next year. Senior Justice Anita Allen said Wednesday night she was reluctantly ordering a new trial because a politician announced that one of the defendants would be freed, giving the appearance of an improper leak from the jury room. Bahamas chief magistrate Roger Gomez said that the new trial is not likely to start until early 2010.
Ambulance driver Tarino Lightbourne and his attorney, politician Pleasant Bridgewater, were accused of demanding $25 million from Travolta to keep them from releasing private information about the death of Travolta’s 16-year-old son, Jett, at the family vacation home in Grand Bahama on Jan. 2. They denied the allegations. Bridgewater resigned her seat in the Bahamas Senate after she was charged in the case.
‘Mockingbird’ actress dies
HIGHLANDS, N.C. — The actress who portrayed the false accuser in the movie “To Kill a Mockingbird” has died of brain cancer in North Carolina.
The husband of Collin Wilcox-Patton confirmed Thursday that the 74-year-old actress died Oct. 14 in Highlands in the southwest part of the state. Scott Paxton said no funeral was held.
Her part in “To Kill a Mockingbird,” based on Harper Lee’s Pulitzer-winning novel, was brief and memorable. She played Mayella Ewell, the young white woman who accuses a black man of rape.
She angrily breaks down as the defense attorney suggests she lied to avoid abuse from her racist father. The black defendant is convicted anyway and later killed.
McCartney plans tour
LONDON — Paul McCartney will return to Hamburg, where The Beatles honed their craft, to launch his first European tour in five years.
McCartney announced Thursday he will play the German city Dec. 2 to kick off the “Good Evening Europe” tour.
Today’s birthdays
Director Ang Lee is 55. Country singer Dwight Yoakam is 53. Singer “Weird Al” Yankovic is 50. Bassist Eric Bass of Shinedown is 35. Actor Ryan Reynolds (“Van Wilder,” “Two Guys and a Girl”) is 33. Actress Jessica Stroup (“90210”) is 23.