Emily Babay

The Washington Examiner

By Emily Babay

One year ago, Douglass Berg, of Reston, said goodbye to his son and daughter before they boarded a flight with his ex-wife on what was supposed to be a three-week visit to her native Japan. He has not seen the children since.

Stefanie Gardner, a native of Germany, traveled to that country with the two young sons she had been raising in Northern Virginia with her estranged husband, Gregory. Since then, she has refused to allow them to return. He accused her of kidnapping the boys, and a warrant for her arrest was issued in the United States. But a German court has awarded her sole custody.

For an increasing number of parents in the Washington area, child-bearing relationships with a foreign partner are deteriorating into charges of child abductions, and in many cases legal struggles in which the deck is stacked against Americans fighting the laws of another country.

Nationwide, the number of cases is rising dramatically. There were 1,135 international child abductions in fiscal 2009, according to State Department statistics. That’s nearly double the 642 cases reported in 2006.
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The Washington Examiner

By Emily Babay

A former Leesburg resident was arrested in connection with stabbings that have killed five people and wounded 13 in three states, but police say the motive for the attacks is still unclear.

Elias Abuelazam, 33, was arrested at about 10 p.m. Wednesday at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport as he attempted to board a flight to Tel Aviv.

He has been charged with one count of assault with intent to murder in Michigan, where police allege Abuelazam has killed five people and injured nine in the Flint area. Police say also say he stabbed three people in Leesburg and one in Toledo, Ohio, in early August.

Though charges have not yet been filed in Virginia, police can place Abuelazam and his vehicle “in the Northern Virginia area during the time of our assaults,” Leesburg Police Chief Joseph Price said Thursday.
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The Washington Examiner

By Emily Babay

A convicted killer wanted for a parole violation. Two sex offenders who failed to register with authorities. A mugger on the run after violating probation.

Those are some of the “Most Wanted” fugitives that authorities took into custody over the past two years, thanks to readers of The Washington Examiner.

But of the 20 fugitives who were apprehended after having been profiled in The Examiner’s “Most Wanted” feature, nearly half are already out on the street. Six have been released, one is slated to be let go within weeks, and two others are out on bond awaiting trial.

The others are being held in various local, state and federal detention facilities.
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Erie Times-News

By Emily Babay

CORRY — Walls with dents and pink stains from tear gas need to be restored and painted. Shattered windows will be replaced. All the carpeting will eventually be removed.

And Justin Smith is doing it all.

Smith, 19, faces the task of cleaning up his family’s home, at 156 Wright St. in Corry, after his sister’s estranged husband committed suicide there during a police standoff on May 7.

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The Daily Pennsylvanian

By Emily Babay

An arrest warrant has been issued for an employee of Au Bon Pain in Huntsman Hall in connection with a Southwest Philadelphia homicide, Det. John Ramsey of the Philadelphia Police Homicide Unit said yesterday.

Keith Devine, 26, is wanted for the murder of Jovonne Stelly and the shooting of four others in an incident that occurred in the 5800 block of Pentridge Street the afternoon of March 25.

He has failed to show up for work since the Monday after that incident, Ramsey said.

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The Daily Pennsylvanian

By Emily Babay

Joseph Cho, the second-year Law student who allegedly tried to kill his downstairs neighbors, had enrolled at the New York University School of Law for several weeks in 2000 but left for reasons that the school would not disclose.

Penn Law officials knew about the previous enrollment prior to Cho’s acceptance at Penn, but they remain unaware of his cause for leave, Penn Law School Dean for Student Affairs Gary Clinton said yesterday.

NYU officials would not confirm exactly how many weeks Cho had attended their school but said that he did not finish the semester.

Cho has been declared incompetent to stand trial after he was arrested and charged with attempted murder and other related offenses.

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