A modest movie pinned to a generational landmark, the latest curve ball from "Brokeback Mountain" director Ang Lee is a gentle coming-of-age, coming-out comedy set against the epochal music festival.
Forty years ago, when Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane et al took to the makeshift stage in a cow field in the Catskills, Lee was 14 years old and still living in his native Taiwan.
James Schamus, his long-time producer and screenwriter, was just nine.
Both were a long way from what the movie calls "the center of the universe."
Perhaps that's why "Taking Woodstock" shies away from the main stage and the big names.
Instead, it focuses on Elliot Teichberg (Demetri Martin), a young man who quits Greenwich Village to help his parents keep open their failing Bethel motel, El Monaco.
Elliot is resourceful enough to become Bethel's youngest director of the chamber of commerce, but between his mom's penny-pinching and his dad's depression, it looks like El Monaco will be lucky to last through the summer.
That is, until a neighboring community tells concert promoter Michael Lang (Jonathan Groff) he can't hold his hippie shindig in their backyard.
Sensing an opportunity, Elliot invites Lang to check out his facilities. After all, he already has a permit for his own annual summer festival, which involves an experimental theatre troupe in the barn and playing
It's a little perverse to make a Woodstock movie that's more about the money than the music. (If you're after classic rock, you better stick with Michael Wadleigh's concert movie, now longer than ever on Blu-ray and DVD.)
Still, the point is clear enough: While the Teichbergs and their neighbors make a killing on the back of half a million hungry, thirsty long-hairs, Elliot, who is a bit of a square and at least halfway in the closet, discovers a higher calling. Not religion, but drugs and sexual liberation (an acceptable substitute for many in '69).
Lee's last few films include "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", "Hulk," "Brokeback Mountain" and "Lust, Caution." They have little enough in common, except for his patient tempo and, perhaps, an abiding interest in that moment when people break rank and act out of character, usually when things get passionate.
"Passion" wouldn't be the first word that comes to mind here, but "Taking Woodstock" is another leisurely affair. The build is artful enough. We get a palpable sense of the encroaching crowds and the split-screen chaos, but it's too slow, really, given that no one here is more than an inch away from amiable caricature.
Imelda Staunton huffs and puffs to remind us of all those Jewish mommas from the old country; Emile Hirsch struggles to find coherence as a borderline crazy Vietnam vet; and Liev Schreiber shows up wearing a flower-print summer frock, packing heat in his garter belt. These are characters from farce, but Lee isn't one for bed-hopping and slamming doors, and the movie never generates much steam in the laughter department -- or tries to.
As Elliot, stand-up Demetri Martin never transcends his miserable haircut and walk-on-the-mild-side demeanor. But Henry Goodman has fun going from gruff to gusto as the boy's father, Jake, unexpectedly re-energized by the sudden influx of the hippie hordes.
A moving father-son heart-to-heart late in the film shows one generation sending the next out into the great unknown. Lee is good at these small, intimate scenes, but you do wonder if he's ever been to a rock concert in his life. "Taking Woodstock" is so inoffensive it feels like a footnote.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Police review death of Rolling Stones founder Brian Jones
British police are reviewing the death of Rolling Stones founder Brian Jones, 40 years after the hard-living rocker was found dead in a swimming pool.
Police in the Southern English county of Sussex have confirmed they are examining documents given to them by an investigative journalist who has been researching events surrounding Jones' death.
Scott Jones, who is not related to the musician, has spent four years reviewing the evidence and speaking to key witnesses in the case.
In an article published in the Daily Mail in November 2008, Jones wrote, "I'm convinced Brian Jones' death was not fully investigated. The only question that remains is why?"
Brian Jones' body was found in the swimming pool after a party at his home in Cotchford Farm, East Sussex in July 1969. He was 27.
An inquest returned a verdict of death by misadventure, despite post mortem results showing he had not taken illegal drugs and had only consumed the alcoholic equivalent of three and a half pints of beer.
One of the most popular conspiracy theories that followed was that Jones was murdered by his builder, Frank Thorogood.
The theory gained credence after Thorogood allegedly confessed to the killing before his death in 1993. The storyline formed the basis of the 2005 film "Stoned."
Sussex police told CNN they could not say how long it would take to review the new material, nor whether it could lead to a full investigation.
There have been repeated calls for closer examination of the case since Jones' death, which came just three weeks after he left the Rolling Stones.
His drinking and drug-taking had taken a toll on his health and the band, and in 1969 Jones announced he was leaving.
In a statement he said, "I no longer see eye-to-eye with the others over the discs we are cutting."
Last year, Scott Jones published an article containing contents of an interview he conducted with one of the people present at Jones' home on the night of his death.
In the article, published in the Daily Mail, Jones' said Janet Lawson, the girlfriend of Rolling Stones tour manager Tom Keylock, gave him a version of events that contradicted her official police statement.
She is reported to have called her original statement, "a pack of lies... total rubbish."
Lawson's revised version of events is among the documents Jones has supplied to Sussex police. It is also believed to include previously unseen files released by the Public Records Office.
Lawson died of cancer soon after telling Scott Jones her new sworn testimony.
Police in the Southern English county of Sussex have confirmed they are examining documents given to them by an investigative journalist who has been researching events surrounding Jones' death.
Scott Jones, who is not related to the musician, has spent four years reviewing the evidence and speaking to key witnesses in the case.
In an article published in the Daily Mail in November 2008, Jones wrote, "I'm convinced Brian Jones' death was not fully investigated. The only question that remains is why?"
Brian Jones' body was found in the swimming pool after a party at his home in Cotchford Farm, East Sussex in July 1969. He was 27.
An inquest returned a verdict of death by misadventure, despite post mortem results showing he had not taken illegal drugs and had only consumed the alcoholic equivalent of three and a half pints of beer.
One of the most popular conspiracy theories that followed was that Jones was murdered by his builder, Frank Thorogood.
The theory gained credence after Thorogood allegedly confessed to the killing before his death in 1993. The storyline formed the basis of the 2005 film "Stoned."
Sussex police told CNN they could not say how long it would take to review the new material, nor whether it could lead to a full investigation.
There have been repeated calls for closer examination of the case since Jones' death, which came just three weeks after he left the Rolling Stones.
His drinking and drug-taking had taken a toll on his health and the band, and in 1969 Jones announced he was leaving.
In a statement he said, "I no longer see eye-to-eye with the others over the discs we are cutting."
Last year, Scott Jones published an article containing contents of an interview he conducted with one of the people present at Jones' home on the night of his death.
In the article, published in the Daily Mail, Jones' said Janet Lawson, the girlfriend of Rolling Stones tour manager Tom Keylock, gave him a version of events that contradicted her official police statement.
She is reported to have called her original statement, "a pack of lies... total rubbish."
Lawson's revised version of events is among the documents Jones has supplied to Sussex police. It is also believed to include previously unseen files released by the Public Records Office.
Lawson died of cancer soon after telling Scott Jones her new sworn testimony.
Michael Jackson's death was a homicide, coroner rules
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- The Los Angeles County coroner has ruled that Michael Jackson's death was a homicide involving a combination of drugs.
"The drugs propofol and lorazepam were found to be the primary drugs responsible for Mr. Jackson's death," said a news release issued Friday by the coroner. "Other drugs detected were: midazolam, diazepam, lidocaine and ephedrine."
The release said Jackson died from "acute propofol intoxication," but said "other conditions contributing to death: benzodiazepine effect."
Lorazepam, midazolam and diazepam are benzodiazepines.
A lawyer for Jackson's personal physician criticized the coroner for releasing only a brief summary of his findings, saying it contained "nothing new" and had "all the earmarks of police gamesmanship."
Michael Jackson's family issued a statement in reaction: "The Jackson family again wishes to commend the actions of the Coroner, the LAPD and other law enforcement agencies, and looks forward to the day that justice can be served."
Federal and state agencies also have launched independent investigations into "matters uncovered" by Los Angeles police while looking into Jackson's death, authorities said. Watch a report on the coroner's findings »
The Los Angeles Police Department, which has been conducting a criminal investigation of Jackson's death, requested at an interagency meeting last week that federal and state agencies pursue their own investigations, according to statements issued Friday by California's attorney general and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The full and final autopsy report and the complete toxicology report "will remain on security hold at the request of the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County district attorney," the release
Dr. Conrad Murray, Jackson's personal physician, told investigators that he had given Jackson three anti-anxiety drugs -- lorazepam, midazolam and diazepam -- in an effort to help him sleep in the hours before he stopped breathing, according to a police affidavit made public earlier this week.
Murray also told detectives he administered a dosage of the anesthetic propofol, diluted with lidocaine, to Jackson a short time before he stopped breathing, the affidavit said.
The 32-page sworn statement was written by Los Angeles Police detective Orlando Martinez to outline probable cause for warrants to search Murray's offices, home and storage rooms in Texas and Nevada.
Murray told detectives he had been treating Jackson for insomnia for six weeks, giving him 50 milligrams of propofol, the generic name for Diprivan, diluted with the anesthetic lidocaine every night via an intravenous drip, the affidavit said.
Worried that Jackson might become addicted to the drug, Murray said he tried to wean Jackson from it, putting together combinations of other drugs that succeeded in helping him sleep during the two nights before his death.
But on the morning of June 25 other drugs failed to do the job. Murray recounted the events to detectives in an hour-by-hour account that was detailed by Martinez:
• About 1:30 a.m., Murray gave Jackson 10 mg of Valium (diazepam).
• About 2 a.m., he injected Jackson with 2 mg of the antianxiety drug Ativan (lorazepam).
• About 3 a.m., Murray then administered 2 mg of the sedative Versed (midazolam).
• About 5 a.m., he administered another 2 mg of Ativan.
• About 7:30 a.m., Murray gave Jackson yet another 2 mg of Versed while monitoring him with a device that measures the oxygen saturation of his blood.
• About 10:40 a.m., "after repeated demands/requests from Jackson," Murray administered 25 mg of propofol, the document said.
"Jackson finally went to sleep and Murray stated that he remained monitoring him. After approximately 10 minutes, Murray stated he left Jackson's side to go to the restroom and relieve himself. Murray stated he was out of the room for about two minutes maximum. Upon his return, Murray noticed that Jackson was no longer breathing."
Efforts at CPR proved fruitless. Jackson was pronounced dead at UCLA Medical Center at 2:26 p.m.
Earlier this week, Murray's lawyer disputed the final section of the timeline.
"Dr. Murray simply never told investigators that he found Michael Jackson at 11 a.m. not breathing," Chernoff said. "He also never said that he waited a mere 10 minutes before leaving to make several phone calls. In fact, Dr. Murray never said that he left Michael Jackson's room to make phone calls at all."
In Friday, Chernoff criticized the coroner's office for making the "contains nothing new." "For two months we have been hearing the same information, usually from leaks out of the coroner's office," Chernoff said. "One has to wonder why the coroner felt compelled to release anything at all if the police investigation is not yet complete."
Agents from the California attorney general's office also will investigate physicians whose names have come up in the course of the Jackson death probe, Attorney General Jerry Brown said.
The federal drug administration also responded with its own independent investigations "into matters that the LAPD's investigation uncovered that may not be directly related to the cause of death," the agency said.
Last week Drug Enforcement agents executed a federal administrative search warrant at the Mickey Fine Pharmacy in Beverly Hills, California, looking for prescription records relating to Jackson, an agency spokesman said.
The pharmacy sits directly below the offices of Jackson's dermatologist, Dr. Arnold Klein. Shortly before his death, Jackson visited the building several times to see Klein.
Klein, who treated Jackson for decades, denied in a CNN interview last month that he had given Jackson dangerous drugs.
Attorney General Brown said that agents with his Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement "will review relevant records and documents."
The attorney general's office maintains a computerized prescription drug monitoring system that tracks controlled substances.
"The drugs propofol and lorazepam were found to be the primary drugs responsible for Mr. Jackson's death," said a news release issued Friday by the coroner. "Other drugs detected were: midazolam, diazepam, lidocaine and ephedrine."
The release said Jackson died from "acute propofol intoxication," but said "other conditions contributing to death: benzodiazepine effect."
Lorazepam, midazolam and diazepam are benzodiazepines.
A lawyer for Jackson's personal physician criticized the coroner for releasing only a brief summary of his findings, saying it contained "nothing new" and had "all the earmarks of police gamesmanship."
Michael Jackson's family issued a statement in reaction: "The Jackson family again wishes to commend the actions of the Coroner, the LAPD and other law enforcement agencies, and looks forward to the day that justice can be served."
Federal and state agencies also have launched independent investigations into "matters uncovered" by Los Angeles police while looking into Jackson's death, authorities said. Watch a report on the coroner's findings »
The Los Angeles Police Department, which has been conducting a criminal investigation of Jackson's death, requested at an interagency meeting last week that federal and state agencies pursue their own investigations, according to statements issued Friday by California's attorney general and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The full and final autopsy report and the complete toxicology report "will remain on security hold at the request of the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County district attorney," the release
Dr. Conrad Murray, Jackson's personal physician, told investigators that he had given Jackson three anti-anxiety drugs -- lorazepam, midazolam and diazepam -- in an effort to help him sleep in the hours before he stopped breathing, according to a police affidavit made public earlier this week.
Murray also told detectives he administered a dosage of the anesthetic propofol, diluted with lidocaine, to Jackson a short time before he stopped breathing, the affidavit said.
The 32-page sworn statement was written by Los Angeles Police detective Orlando Martinez to outline probable cause for warrants to search Murray's offices, home and storage rooms in Texas and Nevada.
Murray told detectives he had been treating Jackson for insomnia for six weeks, giving him 50 milligrams of propofol, the generic name for Diprivan, diluted with the anesthetic lidocaine every night via an intravenous drip, the affidavit said.
Worried that Jackson might become addicted to the drug, Murray said he tried to wean Jackson from it, putting together combinations of other drugs that succeeded in helping him sleep during the two nights before his death.
But on the morning of June 25 other drugs failed to do the job. Murray recounted the events to detectives in an hour-by-hour account that was detailed by Martinez:
• About 1:30 a.m., Murray gave Jackson 10 mg of Valium (diazepam).
• About 2 a.m., he injected Jackson with 2 mg of the antianxiety drug Ativan (lorazepam).
• About 3 a.m., Murray then administered 2 mg of the sedative Versed (midazolam).
• About 5 a.m., he administered another 2 mg of Ativan.
• About 7:30 a.m., Murray gave Jackson yet another 2 mg of Versed while monitoring him with a device that measures the oxygen saturation of his blood.
• About 10:40 a.m., "after repeated demands/requests from Jackson," Murray administered 25 mg of propofol, the document said.
"Jackson finally went to sleep and Murray stated that he remained monitoring him. After approximately 10 minutes, Murray stated he left Jackson's side to go to the restroom and relieve himself. Murray stated he was out of the room for about two minutes maximum. Upon his return, Murray noticed that Jackson was no longer breathing."
Efforts at CPR proved fruitless. Jackson was pronounced dead at UCLA Medical Center at 2:26 p.m.
Earlier this week, Murray's lawyer disputed the final section of the timeline.
"Dr. Murray simply never told investigators that he found Michael Jackson at 11 a.m. not breathing," Chernoff said. "He also never said that he waited a mere 10 minutes before leaving to make several phone calls. In fact, Dr. Murray never said that he left Michael Jackson's room to make phone calls at all."
In Friday, Chernoff criticized the coroner's office for making the "contains nothing new." "For two months we have been hearing the same information, usually from leaks out of the coroner's office," Chernoff said. "One has to wonder why the coroner felt compelled to release anything at all if the police investigation is not yet complete."
Agents from the California attorney general's office also will investigate physicians whose names have come up in the course of the Jackson death probe, Attorney General Jerry Brown said.
The federal drug administration also responded with its own independent investigations "into matters that the LAPD's investigation uncovered that may not be directly related to the cause of death," the agency said.
Last week Drug Enforcement agents executed a federal administrative search warrant at the Mickey Fine Pharmacy in Beverly Hills, California, looking for prescription records relating to Jackson, an agency spokesman said.
The pharmacy sits directly below the offices of Jackson's dermatologist, Dr. Arnold Klein. Shortly before his death, Jackson visited the building several times to see Klein.
Klein, who treated Jackson for decades, denied in a CNN interview last month that he had given Jackson dangerous drugs.
Attorney General Brown said that agents with his Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement "will review relevant records and documents."
The attorney general's office maintains a computerized prescription drug monitoring system that tracks controlled substances.
Woman's frantic 911 call helps convict her killer
A Florida plumber was found guilty Friday of kidnapping and murdering a police detective's daughter at a trial in which his victim's voice filled the courtroom as her desperate 911 call was played to the jury.
Jurors deliberated just two hours before finding Michael L. King, 38, guilty of first-degree murder, kidnapping and sexual battery in the January 17, 2008 abduction and slaying of Denise Amber Lee, a 21-year-old mother of two.
Lee's family, including her father, Charlotte County Sheriff's Det. Rick Goff, cried as the verdict was announced; King showed no reaction.
The jury must next decide whether King, who was a stranger to Lee, should be executed for his crimes.
According to testimony during the weeklong trial, Lee was taken from her home sometime after 2 p.m., driven to King's home, sexually assaulted, then shot in the head and buried in a shallow grave in a marshy vacant lot. Watch King listen to the verdict »
King's attorney, Jerry Meisner, did not present any witnesses. But prosecutors told the jury that Lee's ring was found in King's car, and hair matching hers was found on duct tape found at King's house.
According to testimony and court records, Lee fought frantically for her life, banging on the windows of King's green Camaro, screaming for help and begging one witness, "Call the cops." Watch the defendant as he hears the 911 tape »
Several people reported seeing something suspicious and called 911. But authorities didn't find Lee in time, and allegations that dispatchers mishandled the calls have led to criticism of the local 911 system.
Lee's body was found on January 19 near where police stopped King's car some six hours after the abduction.
The jury heard two 911 calls -- Lee's and one from a concerned witness.
Lee used one of King's cell phones to call 911 as she was driven across three counties. As the six-minute tape was played for the jury, her voice sounded tremulous at times, and frantic at others.
The call came in at 6:14 p.m. on January 17. A 911 operator repeatedly said "Hello," and Lee was heard pleading with her captor: "I'm sorry. I just want to see my family. ... I just want to see my family again. Please. ... Oh please, I just want to see my family again. Let me go."
The man, whose voice was identified in court as King's, cursed at her for trying to attract attention. A radio played loudly in the background. The 911 operator asked her address. Eventually, Lee managed to say, "My name is Denise. I'm married to a beautiful husband and I just want to see my kids again. ... Please, God, please protect me."
The 911 operator asked where she was, and then whether she knew the man. The operator asked if she knew her location. "Please just take me to my house. Can you take me home?" Lee said. The connection was then lost.
Sixteen minutes later, driver Jane Kowalski called 911 to report what she thought was a child abduction. She said she was stopped at a light and could hear screaming from another car "and not a happy scream, a get-me-out-of-here scream."
She testified that she saw someone banging on the car window, slapping her hand hard to demonstrate. "It was very loud," she told the jury. "It was completely horrific, terrified, panicky. I can't think of enough words, it was terrible."
She followed the car for a while, but lost it.
Police quickly traced Lee's call to King's cell phone, and were looking for him. But Kowalski's call was never passed on to officers.
Other witnesses also helped establish the timeline for the terrifying final hours of Lee's life.
Lee's former neighbor, Jennifer Eckert, 24, testified that she saw the green Camaro circle the block three or four times between 1 and 2 p.m. and pull into the Lees' driveway. She said she was certain of the time, because she was watching her favorite TV soap.
King's cousin, Harold Muxlow, testified that King stopped by his house between 5:30 and 6 p.m., and asked to borrow a flashlight, a gas can, and a shovel.
He testified that a "girl's voice" from the car asked him to "call the cops" but Muxlow said King told him, "Don't worry. It's nothing."
The 911 communications breakdown in connection with Kowalski's call was blamed on a shift change and two dispatchers were suspended, according to the St. Petersburg Times.
Lee's husband, Nathan, has launched a foundation bearing her name that works toward 911 reform. He plans to file a lawsuit next month, a
Jurors deliberated just two hours before finding Michael L. King, 38, guilty of first-degree murder, kidnapping and sexual battery in the January 17, 2008 abduction and slaying of Denise Amber Lee, a 21-year-old mother of two.
Lee's family, including her father, Charlotte County Sheriff's Det. Rick Goff, cried as the verdict was announced; King showed no reaction.
The jury must next decide whether King, who was a stranger to Lee, should be executed for his crimes.
According to testimony during the weeklong trial, Lee was taken from her home sometime after 2 p.m., driven to King's home, sexually assaulted, then shot in the head and buried in a shallow grave in a marshy vacant lot. Watch King listen to the verdict »
King's attorney, Jerry Meisner, did not present any witnesses. But prosecutors told the jury that Lee's ring was found in King's car, and hair matching hers was found on duct tape found at King's house.
According to testimony and court records, Lee fought frantically for her life, banging on the windows of King's green Camaro, screaming for help and begging one witness, "Call the cops." Watch the defendant as he hears the 911 tape »
Several people reported seeing something suspicious and called 911. But authorities didn't find Lee in time, and allegations that dispatchers mishandled the calls have led to criticism of the local 911 system.
Lee's body was found on January 19 near where police stopped King's car some six hours after the abduction.
The jury heard two 911 calls -- Lee's and one from a concerned witness.
Lee used one of King's cell phones to call 911 as she was driven across three counties. As the six-minute tape was played for the jury, her voice sounded tremulous at times, and frantic at others.
The call came in at 6:14 p.m. on January 17. A 911 operator repeatedly said "Hello," and Lee was heard pleading with her captor: "I'm sorry. I just want to see my family. ... I just want to see my family again. Please. ... Oh please, I just want to see my family again. Let me go."
The man, whose voice was identified in court as King's, cursed at her for trying to attract attention. A radio played loudly in the background. The 911 operator asked her address. Eventually, Lee managed to say, "My name is Denise. I'm married to a beautiful husband and I just want to see my kids again. ... Please, God, please protect me."
The 911 operator asked where she was, and then whether she knew the man. The operator asked if she knew her location. "Please just take me to my house. Can you take me home?" Lee said. The connection was then lost.
Sixteen minutes later, driver Jane Kowalski called 911 to report what she thought was a child abduction. She said she was stopped at a light and could hear screaming from another car "and not a happy scream, a get-me-out-of-here scream."
She testified that she saw someone banging on the car window, slapping her hand hard to demonstrate. "It was very loud," she told the jury. "It was completely horrific, terrified, panicky. I can't think of enough words, it was terrible."
She followed the car for a while, but lost it.
Police quickly traced Lee's call to King's cell phone, and were looking for him. But Kowalski's call was never passed on to officers.
Other witnesses also helped establish the timeline for the terrifying final hours of Lee's life.
Lee's former neighbor, Jennifer Eckert, 24, testified that she saw the green Camaro circle the block three or four times between 1 and 2 p.m. and pull into the Lees' driveway. She said she was certain of the time, because she was watching her favorite TV soap.
King's cousin, Harold Muxlow, testified that King stopped by his house between 5:30 and 6 p.m., and asked to borrow a flashlight, a gas can, and a shovel.
He testified that a "girl's voice" from the car asked him to "call the cops" but Muxlow said King told him, "Don't worry. It's nothing."
The 911 communications breakdown in connection with Kowalski's call was blamed on a shift change and two dispatchers were suspended, according to the St. Petersburg Times.
Lee's husband, Nathan, has launched a foundation bearing her name that works toward 911 reform. He plans to file a lawsuit next month, a
Police: 'No known suspects' in 8 Georgia deaths
Authorities believe at least one person not in custody may have information about the deaths of eight people in a Georgia mobile home, Glynn County Police Chief Matt Doering said Sunday.
"I'm confident to say that there's somebody, at least an individual, that we would like to know about that's not at the scene," whether or not they were directly involved in the case, Doering said.
Seven people were found dead Saturday at a residence in the New Hope mobile home park in Brunswick, Georgia. Two others were hospitalized in critical condition, and one of them died Sunday, authorities said.
Police have "no known suspects," Doering told reporters Sunday afternoon. "We are not looking for any known suspects. That doesn't say that there are no suspects. They're just not known to us."
One person, 22-year-old Guy Heinze Jr., was arrested Saturday night, Doering said. Heinze is related to one of the victims, he said, and was the one who called 911. He told police he discovered the bodies when he arrived home.
Heinze was being held on suspicion of having a controlled substance and marijuana, as well as evidence tampering and making false statements to a police officer, Doering said. He told reporters Heinze has been cooperative.
"We're still looking for anybody and everybody that may be related to this," he said. "That naturally includes [Heinze]. Of course we're looking at him." He stopped short, however, of calling Heinze a suspect in the deaths.
Autopsies on the victims were taking place Sunday in Savannah, Georgia, Doering said. Police have tentative identifications for the victims, who ranged from children to adults in their mid-40s, he said.
Police have been called to the home before, Doering said, but would not say why.
Doering remained tight-lipped Sunday about many aspects of the case, refusing to say how the victims died or to give a breakdown of male and female victims. All nine victims lived in the mobile home, he said, and police do not believe any of them conducted the assault.
He said police are making progress, and have narrowed down the timeline for when the deaths occurred.
Brunswick is about 300 miles southeast of Atlanta, on the Georgia coast.
Volunteers conducted an extended search of the area around the mobile home, but nothing was found, Doering said.
Meanwhile, police removed additional evidence from the mobile home. Authorities are examining surveillance video from nearby areas, but are not aware of any surveillance system in the mobile home park, he said.
"There is cause for concern," Doering said. "We just simply don't have a whole lot to go on, and I'm not going to sit there and tell everybody not to be cautious, because people need to be."
"I'm confident to say that there's somebody, at least an individual, that we would like to know about that's not at the scene," whether or not they were directly involved in the case, Doering said.
Seven people were found dead Saturday at a residence in the New Hope mobile home park in Brunswick, Georgia. Two others were hospitalized in critical condition, and one of them died Sunday, authorities said.
Police have "no known suspects," Doering told reporters Sunday afternoon. "We are not looking for any known suspects. That doesn't say that there are no suspects. They're just not known to us."
One person, 22-year-old Guy Heinze Jr., was arrested Saturday night, Doering said. Heinze is related to one of the victims, he said, and was the one who called 911. He told police he discovered the bodies when he arrived home.
Heinze was being held on suspicion of having a controlled substance and marijuana, as well as evidence tampering and making false statements to a police officer, Doering said. He told reporters Heinze has been cooperative.
"We're still looking for anybody and everybody that may be related to this," he said. "That naturally includes [Heinze]. Of course we're looking at him." He stopped short, however, of calling Heinze a suspect in the deaths.
Autopsies on the victims were taking place Sunday in Savannah, Georgia, Doering said. Police have tentative identifications for the victims, who ranged from children to adults in their mid-40s, he said.
Police have been called to the home before, Doering said, but would not say why.
Doering remained tight-lipped Sunday about many aspects of the case, refusing to say how the victims died or to give a breakdown of male and female victims. All nine victims lived in the mobile home, he said, and police do not believe any of them conducted the assault.
He said police are making progress, and have narrowed down the timeline for when the deaths occurred.
Brunswick is about 300 miles southeast of Atlanta, on the Georgia coast.
Volunteers conducted an extended search of the area around the mobile home, but nothing was found, Doering said.
Meanwhile, police removed additional evidence from the mobile home. Authorities are examining surveillance video from nearby areas, but are not aware of any surveillance system in the mobile home park, he said.
"There is cause for concern," Doering said. "We just simply don't have a whole lot to go on, and I'm not going to sit there and tell everybody not to be cautious, because people need to be."
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Obama to again target McCain on energy issues today
At a townhall meeting in Youngstown, Ohio, and in another TV ad, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama today will again criticize his Republican opponent for offering "four more years of the same" on energy policy.
Obama's campaign has sent reporters excerpts from remarks the senator plans to make in Youngstown, and among the things he will say are:
"Under Sen. McCain's plan, the oil companies get billions more, we don't pay any less at the pump, and we stay in the same cycle of dependence on oil that got us into this crisis. The oil companies have placed their bet on Sen. McCain, and if he wins, they will continue to cash in while our families and our economy suffer and our future is put in jeopardy.
"That's the choice we face in this election. We can choose four years more of the same failed policies that have gotten us where we are. Four years more of oil companies calling the shots while hard working families are struggling. That's what Sen. McCain is offering.
"Or we can choose a new, clean energy future that gets us where we need to be. We can make a different bet –- a bet on the ingenuity, industry and determination of the American people. That's what I'm offering.
"Because after one president in the pocket of the oil companies -– we can't afford another. For the sake of our economy, our security, and the future of our planet, we must end the age of oil in our time."
Obama's campaign has sent reporters excerpts from remarks the senator plans to make in Youngstown, and among the things he will say are:
"Under Sen. McCain's plan, the oil companies get billions more, we don't pay any less at the pump, and we stay in the same cycle of dependence on oil that got us into this crisis. The oil companies have placed their bet on Sen. McCain, and if he wins, they will continue to cash in while our families and our economy suffer and our future is put in jeopardy.
"That's the choice we face in this election. We can choose four years more of the same failed policies that have gotten us where we are. Four years more of oil companies calling the shots while hard working families are struggling. That's what Sen. McCain is offering.
"Or we can choose a new, clean energy future that gets us where we need to be. We can make a different bet –- a bet on the ingenuity, industry and determination of the American people. That's what I'm offering.
"Because after one president in the pocket of the oil companies -– we can't afford another. For the sake of our economy, our security, and the future of our planet, we must end the age of oil in our time."
Gas station TV network refuses Obama ads
It seemed like a brilliant idea from Democrat Barack Obama's campaign: Show an energy ad across Florida on Gas Station TV, those TV monitors on gas pumps. But the network refused the ad, which accuses Republican John McCain of failing to help the nation develop alternatives to oil.
The company issued a statement saying it does not run political ads. The Obama campaign distributed e-mails that suggest GSTV accepted the ad and then reneged, and charged that the company "will not run ads that are damaging to oil companies."
The ad, called "National Priority," is on regular TV in battleground states. And the other part of the Obama plan to highlight his energy proposals -- sending campaign workers to distribute them at gas stations in 24 states -- is going on this week as planned.
The company issued a statement saying it does not run political ads. The Obama campaign distributed e-mails that suggest GSTV accepted the ad and then reneged, and charged that the company "will not run ads that are damaging to oil companies."
The ad, called "National Priority," is on regular TV in battleground states. And the other part of the Obama plan to highlight his energy proposals -- sending campaign workers to distribute them at gas stations in 24 states -- is going on this week as planned.
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