Marine ordered freed in Iraq war-crime case

Marine ordered freed in Iraq war-crime case

SAN DIEGO

The U.S. Marine Corps released a sergeant Friday whose murder conviction was overturned in a major blow to the military’s prosecution of Iraq war crimes.

Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins III of Plymouth, Mass., walked out of the brig at the Marine Corps Miramar Air Station in San Diego after having served more than half of his 11-year sentence.

“The emotions I am feeling right now are hard to describe,” Hutchins said in a statement issued through his attorney. “I am overcome. This is all I ever wanted.”

Coroner: Teen in Asiana crash killed by vehicle

SAN MATEO, Calif.

As the wreckage of Asiana Flight 214 burned, Ye Meng Yuan was lying on the ground just 30 feet away, buried by the firefighting foam rescue workers were spraying to douse the flames.

No one knows exactly how the 16-year-old Chinese student got to that spot, but officials say one thing is clear now: She somehow survived the crash.

And in the chaotic moments that followed, a firetruck ran over Yuan, killing her, according to new details released Friday by the coroner’s office.

Sgt. faces hearing for releasing photos

BOSTON

A state police sergeant who released striking photos of the capture of the surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings faces a hearing to determine if he will be suspended until an internal investigation is complete.

Massachusetts State Police spokesman David Procopio said the agency didn’t authorize Sgt. Sean Murphy to release the photos to Boston Magazine and won’t release them to other media.

Murphy told Boston Magazine he released the photos because he was furious over a Rolling Stone cover photo he believes glamorizes suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

Four men found in Texas home

HOUSTON

Four men found living in “deplorable conditions” in a Houston garage Friday told police that they were being held captive after being lured by promises of food and cigarettes so that their captor could cash their public-assistance checks, authorities said.

Three of the men were malnourished and taken to a hospital after being discovered by officers responding to a 911 call about the home, Houston police spokeswoman Jodi Silva said. Sgt. Steven Murdock described the living conditions as like a “dungeon.”

DNA links Boston Strangler suspect to last victim

BOSTON

DNA tests confirm that the man who once claimed to be the Boston Strangler did kill the woman believed to be the serial killer’s last victim and likely was responsible for the deaths of the other victims, authorities said Friday.

Albert DeSalvo admitted to killing Mary Sullivan and 10 other women in the Boston area between 1962 and 1964 but later recanted. He was later killed in prison.

The DNA finding “leaves no doubt that Albert DeSalvo was responsible for the brutal murder of Mary Sullivan,” and it was “most likely” that he also was the Boston Strangler, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said.

Associated Press