In letter, mother admits killing kids
GOSHEN, Ind. — An Indiana woman accused of fatally smothering her two young children told a judge in a handwritten letter that she’s guilty and ready to accept life in prison.
Amber Pasztor, 29, of Fort Wayne faces two counts of murder in the Sept. 26 killings of 7-year-old Liliana Hernandez and 6-year-old Rene Pasztor. The children were killed after being abducted from their custodial grandparents’ home.
Her attorneys are seeking to present a defense of mental disease or defect. But in the letter, Pasztor said she was competent and would refuse to see another doctor for mental-health evaluations.
“I made a lot of bad decisions in my life but this one really did it,” she wrote. “I am guilty and I accept my consequences thank you so much for your time.”
Pasztor also has admitted to fatally shooting her neighbor, Frank Macomber, 65, and taking his car. She has not been charged in the death, but prosecutors have said she is a suspect. Investigators believe Macomber was shot the same day the children were killed. His body was found the next day in woods near Fort Wayne.
Circuit Judge Terry Shewmaker gave prosecutors a copy of Pasztor’s letter, dated Dec. 14, during a Thursday court hearing, which Pasztor didn’t attend. Shewmaker made no ruling on the letter, but pushed Pasztor’s trial date from late January until March 20 so a second competency evaluation could be completed.
6th Tennessee jail escapee captured
NEWPORT, Tenn. — Authorities in Tennessee said they have recaptured the sixth and final inmate who broke out of jail on Christmas Day.
The Cocke County sheriff’s office told news outlets in a statement that David Frazier, 54, was arrested Wednesday in Forsyth County, Ga. Frazier is being held there and awaiting extradition to Tennessee.
Deputies said six inmates escaped from the jail early Sunday after removing a toilet from the wall and going through a hole behind it that led outside.
Sheriff Armando Fontes said plumbing repairs had loosened the concrete holding the toilet, and leaks had rusted the bolts holding it.
Fontes said two inmates were caught by Christmas evening, and three were caught Monday: John Thomas Shehee and Harce Wade Allen, both 28; and Eric Click, 29. All five have been charged with vandalism and jail escape.
2 on Guard copter die in Texas crash
LA PORTE, Texas — The Texas Army National Guard said two crew members aboard an Apache AH-64 helicopter gunship on a routine training mission died when their aircraft crashed in Galveston Bay just off the shoreline about 25 miles southeast of Houston.
Chief Warrant Officer 5 Glen Webb said the names of the victims are being withheld until their relatives are notified.
The helicopter belonged to the Texas Army National Guard’s 36th Combat Aviation Brigade and was based at nearby Ellington Field.
Witnesses said the aircraft broke apart in the air late Wednesday afternoon.