Norcross

The death toll attributed to the 2019 novel coronavirus, dubbed COVID-19, continues to rise, with tens of thousands of people sickened and thousands of others killed by the virus, mostly in China. LIVE UPDATES CONTINUE BELOW Officials in Washington state announce two new coronavirus cases. Update 11:20 p.m. EST Feb. 28: Washington state health officials announced two new coronavirus cases Friday night, a woman who had recently traveled to South Korea and a high school student with no known exposure to the disease whose school will be closed and sanitized. Neither people were seriously ill, authorities said. The high school student attends Jackson High School in Everett, Washington, said Dr. Chris Spitters of the Snohomish County Health District. The student had not traveled recently, and authorities were unsure how that person contracted the disease. The other case in Washington was a woman in in King County in her 50s who had recently traveled to South Korea, authorities said. She is also currently quarantined at home. Report: Presumptive 3rd Case confirmed in patient with no travel history linked to virus Update 9:30 p.m. EST Feb. 28: Oregon Governor Kate Brown has confirmed what is believed to be the first case of coronavirus in Oregon. The patient, who lives in Washington County, had no contact with anyone with the virus and has not traveled. “The case was not a person under monitoring or a person under investigation. The individual had neither a history of travel to a country where the virus was circulating, nor is believed to have had a close contact with another confirmed case — the two most common sources of exposure,” the Oregon Health Authority said in a statement. The Lake Oswego School District sent a robocall to parents saying that Forest Hills Elementary will be closed until Wednesday so it can be deep-cleaned by maintenance workers. Initial testing done in Oregon came back positive. Officials are referring to the case as “presumptive” until the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirms the results. Report: 2nd Case confirmed in patient with no travel history linked to virus Update 4:20 p.m. EST Feb. 28: A 65-year-old resident of Santa Clara County is the second case of community transmission of coronavirus. The patient has no known travel history to areas hit by the outbreak. The second case, reported by The Washington Post, said that there was no known connection between the latest patient and anyone else diagnosed with the virus. Stocks sink again on Wall Street Update 4:20 p.m. EST Feb. 28: Stocks sank again after another wild day, extending a rout that left Wall Street with its worst week since October 2008. The market clawed back much of its intraday losses in the last 15 minutes of trading. Bond prices soared as investors sought safety, pushing yields to record lows. The stock swoon is being driven by fear that the coronavirus outbreak will derail the global economy. Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 357 points, or 1.4%, to 25,409. The S&P 500 lost 24 points, or 0.8%, to 2,954. The benchmark index has lost 13% since hitting a record high 10 days ago. The Nasdaq rose 1 point to 8,567. Number of positive cases climbs in Italy, US Update 1:40 p.m. EST Feb. 28:Italian Civil Protection Agency officials said there are 821 cases of coronavirus. Of that number, 412 of the people have shown no symptoms and are in isolation at their homes, CNN reported. The agency also announced 21 people have died. They were in their 70s and 80s with other illnesses, according to CNN. As for the United States, there are now 62 confirmed cases, the CDC said in a press briefing. Forty-four came from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, three are repatriated from China and the remaining 15 are US-specific cases, CNN reported. WHO: 20+ vaccines in development Update 11:21 a.m. EST Feb. 28: The World health organization has announced that there are more than 20 vaccines in development and treatments for coronavirus. They are in clinical trials and officials hope to see results in a few weeks, CNN reported. The WHO also said that they consider the spread and risk of COVID-19 is at a high level, but have yet to declare it a pandemic. Most cases are being contributed to known contact or clusters and that the virus does not seem to be spreading freely, according to CNN. But the bigger threat than the virus itself is the fear the outbreak is creating, The Washington Post reported. Mexico has first cases Update 10:20 a.m. EST Feb. 28: Mexico has two cases of COVID-19, the country’s assistant health secretary said, according to ABC News. One case, which is confirmed, is in Mexico City, the other suspected case is in Sinaloa. While the test results haven’t come back in the second yet, officials are treating the patient as if it was positive, ABC News reported. Both cases are reportedly not serious. Meanwhile, the illness is spreading in Singapore, as the country now says there are 98 cases, CNN reported. Stocks open lower to finish week Update 10 a.m. EST Feb. 28: The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down more than 800 points shortly after the opening bell to start the final day of trading this week, CNBC reported. The Dow isn’t the only index to feel the effects of the coronavirus. Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both open down. Events canceled, virus spreads to sub-Saharan Africa Update 6:30 a.m. EST Feb 28: South Korea’s number of infected has jumped. Now officials say an additional 571 people have tested positive for Coronavirus, CNN reported. A total of 2,337 cases have been diagnosed, the most outside of mainland China, CNN reported. Events are being canceled as the virus continues to have a hold on most of the world. One of the world’s biggest car shows, the Geneva Motor Show, has been canceled because of coronavirus. More than 600,000 people were supposed to attend the event starting on March 2, CNN reported. The Swiss government has banned any events that have more than 1,000 expected to attend. The ban is in effect until March 15. Tokyo Disneyland has closed because of the virus. The gates will remain closed for two weeks. Both of Tokyo’s Disney parks, Disneyland and DisneySea, are planned to reopen on March 15, but it could be closed longer, NBC News reported. Lithuania now has its first confirmed case. The woman, who has mild symptoms, is in isolation at a hospital and her three family members are being monitored, CNN reported. France has two new infections, bringing its total to 40. Sub-Saharan Africa has had its first case with a person in Nigeria has tested positive. The person, who is an Italian citizen, traveled from Milan to Lagos earlier this week. Nigeria is Africa’s largest populated country with more than 200 million. Officials are trying to determine who came in contact with the person and are taking measures to make sure it doesn’t spread, The New York Times reported. US Navy quarantine Update 12 a.m. EST Feb. 28: The US Navy has ordered the self-quarantine of all ships that have been to countries in the Pacific and to monitor for any symptoms, CNN reported. But as of the order, there were no signs that anyone on the ships has become infected. The ships are to remain at sea for 14 days. The quarantine comes after a planned exercise with South Korea was suspended because of the outbreak, CNN reported.

A mother in Kentucky was reunited with her son 55 years after a babysitter took him in 1965. Anna-Mary Barnett told WLKY that she left her 5-year-old son, Jerry Barnett, with a babysitter she did not know well in 1965, and when she returned from work, the woman had taken him. The alleged kidnapper moved to Delaware and then abandoned Jerry. He would later end up in foster care, and was given a new last name with an estimated birth date. Years later, Jerry’s son, Damon Parker, took a DNA test that linked him to a relative in Kentucky. The connection was his newfound cousin, Will Barnett, who was then able to connect Jerry to his birth mother. Anna-Mary Barnett and Jerry were reunited Friday with tearful family members in attendance. Read more about that reunion here.

The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals at Nevins Farm in Methuen is caring for two horses that were rescued from a home in Ludlow, Massachusetts, on Feb 5. The horses had to be dug out of their stalls because the manure was piled too high for them to exit through the doors. After two hours of digging, they were freed by MSPCA Law Enforcement and Adoption Center workers. As a result of being trapped in the stalls, the horses developed sores on their backs. MSPCA-Angell’s Law Enforcement Department worked with the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office to charge Nancy L. Golec with four counts of felony animal cruelty. Golec is the former owner of the horses and she was arraigned in Palmer District Court on Monday. The horses, a 13-year-old Arabian named Shakira and an 11-year-old quarter horse/Arabian cross named Tia, were surrendered and immediately transported to Nevins Farm. Roger Lauze, the equine rescue training manager at Nevins Farm, said he hasn’t seen such neglect in nearly 40 years of working in horse rescue. “The hooves on these horses were so overgrown and disfigured that it will take years of farrier work for them to reshape—if that’s even possible,” he said. Both horses had overgrown teeth and their hind legs were caked in manure. Their overgrown hooves contributed to imbalances that have had a significant impact on their health. The Nevins Farm team is working to rehabilitate both horses in hopes that they can be placed up for adoption. Anyone interested in adopting Shakira or Tia can email barnstaff@mspca.org. Those who want to contribute to the horses’ medical bills can donate here.

An animal rescue group in Colorado is looking to find a forever home for a pair of its latest foster dogs, a bling pug and his seeing-eye Chihuahua. Augie, the pug, and Pepe, the Chihuahua, were brought to the Colorado Pug Rescue together after their owner could no longer care for them because of a terminal illness, KDVR reported. “It was kind of like a package deal. When Augie came, (Pepe) came with him,” Cyndi Trimber, a volunteer with the rescue, told KDVR. “They’ve been taken from the only home they knew, and they’re thrown into another home. They really had to depend on each other to get through it.” Augie has likely been blind for a long time. When he was brought to the rescue, he needed surgery to remove his eyes and 14 teeth. The rescue group is also asking for help to pay the $3,100 veterinary bill. Trimber is watching the two dogs for the time being. 'They sleep together, they eat together,” Trimber told KDVR. “It’s really sweet they depend on each other like that.”

Talk about a cool house. A winter storm iced over homes in upstate New York on Thursday night, leaving the structures under nearly 3-foot sheets of ice in what looked like a winter wonderland Friday morning. The winter storm brought a combination of cold temperatures, gale-force winds and 10- to 18-foot swells off the shoreline along Lake Erie, causing the houses to become covered in ice, WGRZ reported. Homeowner Ed Mis told WGRZ he had never seen conditions so bad and is concerned about where the ice will go when it inevitably melts.

A man accused of killing his 6-year-old son in 2015 by sodomizing him with a stick and forcing him to do squats is on trial for the second time in an Arkansas courtroom. Mauricio Alejandro Torres, 50, of Bella Vista, is charged with capital murder and first-degree battery, according to Benton County Jail records. He faces the death penalty if convicted. Opening statements in the case began Thursday. On Friday, jurors heard from the emergency room doctor who tried to save Mauricio “Isaiah” Torres’s life when he was brought to Mercy Bella Vista Medical Center the night of March 29, 2015. “He had wounds all over his body,” Dr. Franklin Mayhue said, according to the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette. “This was an extreme picture of a child who was not only dead, but dead from a bizarre situation.” Mayhue also testified about the lack of reaction Torres and his wife, Cathy Lynn Torres, had when he told them their son had died. “There was an absence of a normal grieving response from parents that lost a child,” Mayhue said. Two of Isaiah Torres’ former teachers testified Thursday afternoon about the concerns they had for his welfare during the 2013-2014 school year. Peri Heffernan, his kindergarten teacher, and music teacher Hannah Paul both told of seeing multiple large bruises on the boy’s body. The women also testified that Isaiah stole other children’s lunches and scavenged food from the trash, the Democrat Gazette reported. Heffernan took photos of his bruises and reported her concerns to the state child abuse hotline. No one ever responded to the report, the teachers testified. The following school year, Isaiah did not return to the school because his parents began homeschooling him. Paul described what Isaiah was like when he was in her class. “He had a great smile and contagious joy,” Paul said, according to the newspaper. “He was a great kid.” Mauricio Torres was found guilty Nov. 15, 2016, of both charges in the death of his son, but his conviction was later overturned. According to the Democrat Gazette, a medical examiner testified at the first trial that Isaiah died of a bacterial infection he developed after being sodomized during a family vacation in Missouri. Isaiah died early the morning of March 30 after the family had returned home. Cathy Torres pleaded guilty to capital murder and battery in March 2017 and was sentenced to serve life in prison without parole. Though she didn’t testify at her husband’s first trial, she is on the prosecution’s list of potential witnesses the second time around, the Democrat Gazette reported. “As part of her plea agreement, Cathy Torres agreed to provide truthful testimony if needed,” Benton County Prosecuting Attorney Nathan Smith said, according to the newspaper. “Pursuant to the court order, we filed a witness list including everyone we may need to call at trial so that the defendant will be on notice of all potential witnesses. The actual decision of which witnesses to call will be made closer to trial as the case unfolds.” Jail records show Cathy Torres, 48, was transferred last week to the Benton County Jail for the trial. She is usually housed at the Arkansas Department of Corrections’ McPherson Women’s Unit near Newport, according to prison records. Editor’s note: The following portion of the story contains graphic details that may be disturbing to some readers.  According to court records, Mauricio Torres and his wife, Cathy Torres, were camping March 29, 2015, with Isaiah and their two daughters when they awoke to find Isaiah had eaten some cake without their permission. “For the offense of eating cake without permission, Isaiah was punished by inserting a stick into his rectum and forcing him to do squats,” the court documents say. In his confession, Mauricio Torres described Isaiah’s punishment to police by saying that spanking the boy never worked. “I just put the stick in his bottom again, you know. Like you said, that power. And I said, ‘In the corner, you know, up and down,’” Torres told investigators. Cathy Torres became angry that Isaiah was “not squatting fast enough,” so she pushed him down. “This drove the stick deeper inside of Isaiah’s body and pierced his rectum,” the documents say. Over the next several hours, Isaiah became ill. By the time they got home that night, he was unresponsive. “(Mauricio) Torres did not seek medical care for Isaiah until nearly midnight. When emergency responders arrived, Isaiah was in cardiac arrest,” the records say. “He was transported to a hospital in Benton County, Arkansas, but soon died.” Isaiah’s official cause of death was acute fecal purulent peritonitis, or a bacterial infection of the abdominal cavity that occurred after feces entered through his torn rectum. The feces and subsequent pus that developed killed the boy. The forensic pathologist who conducted his autopsy also found extensive injuries on the boy’s body, in various stages of healing, and describing his condition as a “textbook case of chronic child abuse,” according to the records. “Thick scar tissue lined the interior of Isaiah’s skull cap from repeated, significant and traumatic head injuries,” the court documents say. “Isaiah’s nose had been broken, flattened and deformed. His teeth had been forcibly removed. The injuries on his back included severe bruising, chemical burns and multiple lacerations resembling whip marks. His hands and arms were covered in defensive wounds. And, shortly before his death, Isaiah sustained substantial and traumatic blows to his head and a blunt force injury encompassing his chest, back and abdomen.” The boy’s sister testified at their father’s trial that Isaiah was regularly beaten with a cable and with the stick that caused his death. The chemical burns he suffered were caused by his being forced to bathe with bleach, she said. “Torres had removed Isaiah’s teeth with pliers as punishment for speaking ill of him,” the documents say. “He had forced Isaiah to consume his feces and urine. Moreover, Isaiah’s blood was found spattered throughout the Bella Vista home and the Missouri camper.” Jurors found Mauricio Torres guilty of both charges and sentenced him to death. Both his conviction and death sentence were overturned last year after his attorneys successfully argued that the judge erred in denying him a directed verdict on one of two theories of the crime: that the murder either took place during the course of a rape or as the result of child abuse. The underlying crime in either scenario was necessary for a death sentence to apply in Torres’ case. “First, the circuit court erred because the alleged acts did not meet the elements of rape as rape was defined in Missouri when the alleged offense occurred,” the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled. “Second, the alleged acts did not occur in Arkansas; therefore, Arkansas law could not have applied.” The defense also argued that, because the rape felony murder case was legally insufficient, and it was unclear if the jury convicted Torres on the basis of rape or child abuse, his conviction should be overturned and the case remanded for a new trial. The justices found that, while death was the consequence of the rape, it was not an element of the crime. The state, they said, could not prove that an element of the underlying crime took place in Arkansas, and prosecutors could not establish that Arkansas had jurisdiction to accuse Torres of raping his son. “Because of this, the rape felony murder is insufficient, which in turn taints the entire verdict because the jury completed a general verdict form,” the court ruled. “Stated differently … because of the general-verdict-form formulation, we are unable to determine which formula -- rape felony murder or child abuse-murder -- the jury based its conviction on.” Torres’ conviction and sentence were overturned by a 4-3 vote. Read the Arkansas Supreme Court ruling below. Warning: The document contains graphic details of Isaiah Torres’ death.  Smith, who also prosecuted Torres the first time, spoke out against the high court’s ruling to 5News in Fayetteville last year. “The vote of one justice invalidated the will of 12 jurors in Benton County and forces the victim’s family and the survivors to go through this again, so it’s a hard day for them, and it was hard to tell them that, and it’s just unfortunate,” Smith said, according to the news station. One of the jurors in Torres’ first trial also discussed the proceedings and the difficulties the jury faced in determining whether or not to ask for a man’s execution. “We all agreed on it, and before we even walked out of that room to get the bailiff and tell them we made a decision, we all sat there and prayed about our decision, and I think that speaks volumes for itself, because a lot of people weren’t religious, but we all came together and said, ‘We need to pray about this decision,’” Kacie Alverson said. She said the two-week trial was something she will never forget. “Those pictures are forever ingrained in my mind. Watching the autopsy and all that stuff is forever ingrained in my mind,” Alverson told 5News.