Man to be moved in family’s slaying

A 22-year-old man accused of shooting to death his parents and three teenage sisters will be returned to Iowa to face murder charges.

Shawn Bentler appeared in an Adams County, Ill., courtroom Monday for a brief hearing. Van Buren County, Iowa, officials were expected pick him up in the afternoon.

The five victims were found early Saturday morning in their home near Bonaparte, Iowa, about 60 miles northwest of Quincy. They were identified as Michael Bentler, 53; his wife, Sandra, 47; and their daughters Sheena, 17; Shelby, 15; and Shayne, 14. Shawn Bentler was arrested a few hours later in Quincy, where he lived. He was charged in Iowa with five counts of first-degree murder.

HOUSTON

At least four dead in storms

Heavy thunderstorms brought torrential rains, flooding and tornadoes to southeast Texas on Monday, killing four people, ripping roofs off mobile homes, and trapping rush-hour drivers on flooded, tangled freeways.

As much as 10 inches of rain fell in the Houston-Galveston area overnight.

More rain was expected across Texas on Monday, although floodwaters were receding in parts of the Houston area by late morning.

Some delays were reported at both of Houston’s major airports.

A tornado struck east of Houston near the Jefferson County town of China, not far from the Louisiana line, an emergency management spokeswoman said.

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif.

Ford returns home after hospital stay

Former President Gerald R. Ford returned to his Southern California desert home Monday after five days of hospitalization for medical tests, his spokeswoman said Monday.

Ford, 93, who was admitted Oct. 12 to Eisenhower Medical Center, returned to his Thunderbird Estates compound about a mile away, chief of staff Penny Circle said. She did not disclose the nature of the tests.