In brief: TV re-enactment of murder draws ire of victim’s father
LONDON – The father of slain British student Meredith Kercher is criticizing a television re-enactment for carrying scenes of his daughter’s murder in the Italian city of Perugia.
The movie is based on the trial which followed the stabbing death of Kercher on Nov. 1, 2007, a killing for which Kercher’s roommate, University of Washington student Amanda Knox, was eventually found guilty.
“Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy” has “Heroes” star Hayden Panettiere in the title role.
John Kercher was quoted in The Sun as saying the scenes “were absolutely horrific.” The film airs Feb. 21 on Lifetime.
Man, 23, gets 17-year term for Southcenter shootings
SEATTLE – A young Seattle man has been sentenced to 17 years in prison for a Nov. 22, 2008, shooting at the Westfield Southcenter mall that killed one teen and injured another.
Barry Lee Saunders Jr. pleaded guilty last month to second-degree murder and second-degree assault for fatally shooting 16-year-old Diaquan Jones and wounding Jermaine McGowan, then 15. The now-23-year-old Saunders was sentenced Friday in King County Superior Court.
According to documents, Saunders’ brother and a friend encountered a group including Jones and McGowan at the mall and gang signs led to a fistfight. Saunders’ brother saw Saunders in the distance and called for him.
Education chief lauds school’s career, technical program
GRANITE FALLS, Wash. – U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in a speech Wednesday praised the ShopGirls team, of Granite Falls High School, and the school’s career and technical program where the team learned how to build a diesel-powered vehicle that got 470 miles per gallon.
The “Iron Maiden” was entered in the Shell Eco-marathon Americas competition in Texas last March. It placed first in the prototype diesel division and second in the People’s Choice division.
Duncan spoke at the Harvard University-based Pathways to Prosperity Project.
Fishing boat that sank carried 3,800 gallons of fuel
SEATTLE – Washington state and federal agencies are watching for pollution from a fishing boat that sank off the Washington coast with 3,800 gallons of diesel on board.
The Coast Guard safely rescued all five crew members from the 80-foot “Vicious Fisher” Thursday night before it sank about 13 miles west of La Push in water 360 feet deep.
The boat sank within the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. The owner of the Bellingham-based boat has retained a cleanup crew. A salvage company has been hired to see if the boat can be removed.