Woman who snared murderer with cigarette DNA trick nominated for bravery award

A fearless young woman who tricked a murderer into leaving DNA evidence on a cigarette butt after he tried to strangle her has been nominated for a national bravery award.

Jessica Price was attacked by Carl Powell in an alley in Nottingham in 2011 after he pounced on her while she walked home from a night-out with friends.

But the 23-year-old's bravery meant police were able to use the discarded cigarette to charge him, with the evidence also tying him to a brutal murder just a month earlier.

She has now been nominated for the Cosmo Ultimate Survivor category of the Cosmopolitan Ultimate Women of the Year Awards because of her actions.

On the night last year, evil Powell wrapped his hands around her neck after jumping her from behind and started choking her before dragging her through the gates of a college and pushing her onto the ground.

Chilling CCTV images show the moment Powell dragged Jessica by the arm on a deserted street moments before he forced her hand down his pants.

But, despite her terrifying ordeal, Miss Price managed to remain calm and persuaded Powell to let her go and even pretended to like him so he would let his guard down.

Incredibly, Miss Price, who waived her anonymity, managed to charm Powell by pretending she liked him. She managed to persuade him to smoke a cigarette which she knew would contain his DNA. After he dropped the butt on the ground, Miss Price made a mental note where it was.

As the pair were getting closer to Miss Price's parent’s home in Carlton, Nottinghamshire, Powell was distracted by a phone call and he said he had to leave. When the attacker disappeared she called police and told them where to find Powell’s cigarette butt.

The DNA matched that of Powell and he was arrested and charged three days later. Not only did the police charge Powell for the attack on Miss Price but also of the murder of Caroline Coyne, in Thorneywood, Nottinghamshire, whose body was found in an alley a month earlier.

The 28-year-old care worker had been strangled then bludgeoned and left to die from head injuries. As a result of Miss Price's brave actions, last October Powell was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 20 years after being convicted at Nottingham Crown Court.

He was also jailed for a total of five-and-a-half years for the false imprisonment and sexual assault on Miss Price, a sentence which will run concurrently with his life term.

Miss Price who now teaches full-time in Italy, recalled the attack after she was nominated for a national bravery award. She said: 'I couldn’t breathe - I thought he was going to kill me. 'But something told me I had to be calm and reach out on a human level.

'I managed to get his hands from my throat and said, ‘I promise I won’t scream, just let me catch my breath’. 'I think he was so shocked by my reaction that he let me go. I reassured him I wouldn’t make a sound. He took a step back and I knew my plan was working.

'Inside, I was terrified I asked him how his night had been and said, "You’re heading in the same direction as me. Let’s walk together".' She said: 'At the time, I just reacted. Nobody knows what they are going to do in that situation. It is really amazing to be nominated.

'It is a really nice feeling and it would be so nice to be the winner. It would make me feel better about the situation. 'People have said that I was brave and that I did really well to stay calm. 'Hopefully, it will make people think twice about how they react, and mainly just make them think about staying calm.'

Detective Chief Inspector Tony Heydon, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: 'Jessica is simply an astonishing young lady. She had periods where the events of that night caused her real issues. 'To have the strength of character to put that to one side and give valuable evidence at court is nothing less than inspirational.

'Add to that what she did to probably save her own life, words are hard to find to describe how much I admire her.' The winner will be announced at the Cosmopolitan Ultimate Women of the Year Awards 2014 on December 5 at the London Victoria and Albert Museum.a

Parents forced daughter into sex with 80-year-old

A couple from Enna, a town in central Sicily, forced their 15-year-old daughter to have sex with an 80-year-old man in a bid to overcome their money problems.
The pair are now on trial in Sicily after setting up sexual encounters between the girl and their former employer in exchange for “a few hundred euros” at least twice a month, ArticoloTre reported. The court in the nearby town of Caltanissetta heard that the couple had "severe financial problems".

The girl fell pregnant and gave birth to a son, fathered by the 80-year-old, in 2008. The case later came to the attention of the social services, which conducted an investigation, including a DNA test proving the elderly man was the child’s father.

A report by the Italian unit of Ecpat, the international child protection agency, earlier this month found that up to 11,000 children are forced into prostitution in Italy.

The financial crisis is partly to blame, with an increasing number of women, faced with unemployment, turning to sex work, both on the street and online.

A woman and her daughter, from Rimini, reportedly became prostitutes in a bid to support their struggling family. Meanwhile, five people were arrested in Rome in late October in connection with a prostitution ring that involved two girls aged 14 and 15. The mother of one of the girl's was also arrested for pimping her daughter.

White supremacist Craig Cobb who was told he has black ancestry arrested

He came, he saw, he tried to conquer. Instead, he got arrested: Craig Cobb's attempts to turn Leith, N.D., into a white-supremacist enclave have hit a wall now that he's in a local jail, accused of terrorizing townsfolk.

But there's a new, ironic twist to his thwarted takeover attempt. You might even call it a case of reverse racism.

The Los Angeles Times has previously cataloged Cobb's plot and the repeated stumbles he's faced -- first running afoul of local health rules, then discovering on a nationally syndicated talk show that a DNA test showed he was actually 14% sub-Saharan African.

Then, over the weekend, Cobb, 62, was arrested after going on an ill-advised armed patrol of the town, population 16, with a fellow white supremacist, Kynan Dutton, 29.

Before their arrest, Cobb had texted the Bismarck Tribune about his motive: "Because of the many violences and harassments against we and the children, we have commenced armed patrols of Leith."

There's a little more to the story than that: Cobb, it seems, had felt the sting of his own brand of racial prejudice turned against him.

The local prosecutor says a fellow white supremacist had apparently targeted Cobb with racial graffiti after he'd found out that Cobb's DNA results said he was part black.

Man Leaves $250,000 and Mansion to his Cat instead of 5 Children

Two Mid-South cats are living the last of their nine lives in luxury after an estate was left behind for them by their owner.

Some might call them fat cats, because their house is in a gated community. Their owner, Leon Sheppard, Sr., left his 4,270-square-foot house and $250,000 for the care of his cats in his will.

His will states the money should be used for the care of Frisco and Jake and the maintenance of this house they live in.

"If their owner sees fit, they can create a trust for the welfare and benefit of the cats and their care," said attorney Randy Fishman, who has practiced law for almost 35 years.

He says it is rare, but it's not unheard of as New York hotel heiress Leona Helmsley left $12 million for the care of her dog, Trouble.

"I don't know [if] I've ever come across one," said Fishman.

Leon Sheppard's daughter said by phone that the family did not want to talk about it. Neighbors said Sheppard loved his cat.

Sheppard was president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1529 before he retired. He died at the age of 79.

Fishman says Sheppard's will is all legal. According to the will, when Frisco dies whatever is left of the estate including the house can be passed to Sheppard's human heirs. However, Jake must be cared for. The heirs will be allowed to move Jake out of the house.

20-Year-Old Girl Tweets '2 drunk 2 care’ Shortly Before Driving On Wrong Side Of Road And Killing Two Women in Florida

A self-styled "pothead princess" tweeted she was "2 drunk 2 care" less than three hours before driving the wrong way down a road and killing two young women in a deadly smash, police said.

Kayla Mendoza, 20, from Hallandale Beach in Florida, was allegedly heading east in the westbound lane on the Sawgrass Expressway at 1:45 a.m. Sunday morning.

She reportedly crashed her Hyundai Sonata - head-on - into a Toyota Camry being driven by Kaitlyn Nicole Ferrante, who had her pal Marisa Caran Catronio in the passenger seat.

The pair, both 21, had been heading home to Coral Springs after a night on the town celebrating Catronio's landmark birthday.Catronio was pronounced dead at the scene, while Ferrante was rushed to Broward Health North hospital - but died from her injuries on Thursday morning.

T-Mobile sales associate Mendoza was also taken to the same ER, where she is said to remain in a serious condition.Since the fatal crash, it has emerged that Mendoza has repeatedly boasted online about taking drugs and drinking alcohol.

Under the user name "Kaila Mendoza," the Miami New Times revealed that the Broward College graduate had fired off dozens of tweets about getting high."Car permanently smells like weed," she wrote in the days leading up to the incident."Rolling a blunt in the airport parking lot," she added, also once saying: "Can't sleep without my bedtime blunt," and "I really am so baked right now."

And, less than three hours before the crash, she wrote: "2 drunk 2 care."2 drunk 2 care.

Kaitlyn Ferrante, 20 (left) and Marisa Catronio, 21, were killed in the crash.

Kayla Mendoza