Police: Mass murderer John Linley Frazier hanged himself in prison

San Jose Mercury News

August 19, 2009

The suicide of mass murderer John Linley Frazier, the first of three Santa Cruz County men to go on a killing spree in the '70s, leaves unanswered the question of what led to the slayings of a well-known doctor, his wife and their sons.

Frazier, who was convicted of shooting Victor M. Ohta, three members of his family and his secretary in their Soquel hills home in 1970, hanged himself in prison last week, according to the Amador County Sheriff's Office. "It's definitely not a chapter being closed because what John Linley Frazier did affected so many people," Santa Cruz County District Attorney Bob Lee said. "There's always that unanswered question, Why did he do this terrible thing.' Unfortunately that will probably rest with John Linley Frazier."

Lee said his office waited to release the details about Frazier's death until they could notify the Ohtas' surviving daughter, Lark. "It was one of the hardest calls I've ever had to make as a D.A.," he said, who added the conversation was "emotional." Mule Creek State Prison spokeswoman Terry Thorton said, "the circumstances of the suicide were very compelling," though she declined to give specifics.

A correctional officer found Frazier, 62, unresponsive in his cell on Aug. 13. He was pronounced dead at 1:33 p.m., prison officials reported. He died of asphyxiation, and the Amador County coroner ruled it was a suicide, said Amador County Undersheriff James Wegner. "It was a hanging," Wegner said. Frazier was in his cell alone. Thorton did not know the last time he had been checked on.

His death is the second suicide in a California state prison this month. Figures on the average number of suicides in state prison each year were not available. However, 42 inmates killed themselves in California prison facilities in 2006, the most recent year the statistic was released.

Frazier was serving a life sentence for five counts of first-degree murder. He was convicted of the Oct. 19, 1970 murders of Victor M. Ohta, 46; his wife Virginia, 43; his two sons, Derek, 12, and Taggart, 11; and Ohta's secretary, Dorothy Cadwallader, 38, in the Ohtas' home. Frazier, a Capitola Elementary School graduate who worked as an auto mechanic, shot his victims in the back and left a note with Manson-esque overtones. Charles Manson and three female accomplices were on trial at the time for 1969 slayings of pregnant actress Sharon Tate and six others in Southern California. "Today World War 3 will begin as brought to you by the people of the Free Universe," the note read.

Frazier admitted to the killings, telling a psychiatrist that a "voice from God" told him to seek vengeance on "those who rape the environment." Watsonville Police Chief Terry Medina, who was a deputy sheriff in 1970 and investigated the Ohta murders, said Frazier tried to throw off police and feign insanity by referencing tarot cards. "He was smart enough. No one bought into him being a nutcase," Medina said.

Frazier was sentenced to death in San Mateo County and sent to state prison on Dec. 30, 1971. He was resentenced to life in prison on Jan. 8, 1974 after the California Supreme Court found that the death penalty constituted cruel and unusual punishment under the state constitution. California did not have the life without parole sentence at the time ...

Powerful earthquake strikes Japan

June 14, 2008 -- Updated 1845 GMT (0245 HKT)

TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Six people were killed and at least 144 hurt Saturday morning when a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck northeastern Japan, Japanese officials said. Another eight people were missing, fire officials said.

Several landslides covered roads, some highways buckled, a few bridges collapsed and bullet trains stopped, but two nuclear power plants in the region were not affected, officials said.

The quake, which hit at 8:43 a.m. (7:43 p.m. ET Friday), was centered 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of Sendai, Japan, in southern Iwate Prefecture, the Japanese Meteorological Agency said. Several strong aftershocks followed, it said.

Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said one man was killed when he was buried in a landslide in Fukushima Prefecture and the other was struck by a truck when he rushed out of his house in Iwate.

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda sent priority orders for rescue operations, Machimura said.

Local governments, fire departments and police were working to gather damage reports.

The Iwate government office said it had received reports that eight children and a teacher were injured by breaking windows at a preschool and that the earthquake produced landslides in some areas.

The Miyagi fire department said there had been some injuries caused by falling furniture, and some bus passengers were injured when the vehicle bounced on a bridge. Two houses collapsed, the fire department said.

Major quakes hit Japan and Indonesia

September 10, 2008

(CNN) -- A magnitude 6.9 earthquake rattled Japan on Thursday, within minutes of a magnitude 6.6 earthquake in Indonesia, the U.S. Geological Survey said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries from either quake, but both prompted tsunami warnings, although Japan's Meteorological Agency predicted it would be small, about 50 centimeter (20 inches).

The Indonesian quake occurred at exactly 9 a.m. (0000 GMT), the USGS said. Its epicenter was offshore, about 75 miles (120 km) north of Ternate in the province of Moluccas in eastern Indonesia. The quake was strongly felt in Ternate. The Indonesian Meteorological and Geophysical Department issued a tsunami warning shortly afterward -- standard procedure for a quake of magnitude 6.6 or higher with an epicenter offshore.

The Japanese quake occurred at 9:21 a.m. (0021 GMT). The USGS initially classified its magnitude as a 7.2, but later reduced it. The quake's epicenter was offshore, about 80 miles (125 km) south-southwest of Kushiro on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, and about 21.7 miles (35 km) below the Earth's surface.

The Indonesian quake was much deeper -- about 57.9 miles (93 km). In general, earthquakes centered closer to the Earth's surface produce stronger shaking and can cause more damage than those further underground.

Earthquakes between magnitude 6.0 and 6.9 are considered "strong" by the USGS. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said neither quake posed a Pacific-wide tsunami threat. However, "earthquakes of this size sometimes generate local tsunamis that can be destructive along coasts located within a hundred kilometers of the earthquake epicenter," the administration said.

Volcano erupts near Tokyo raining ash down on city

Feb 1, 9:40 PM (ET)

TOKYO (AP) - A volcano erupted near Tokyo early Monday, spewing a plume of smoke more than a mile (1.6 kilometers) high and raining ash down on parts of the city. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

Mount Asama, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) northwest of Tokyo, erupted at 1:51 am (0451 GMT) Monday, according to Japan's Meteorological Agency. Chunks of rock from the explosion were found about 3,300 feet (1,000 meters) away from the volcano. The agency said volcanic ash fell on nearby areas as well as parts of Tokyo. TV reports showed neighborhoods sprinkled with white flakes.

An alert level of three, which urges nearby residents to take caution, was kept in place for a 2.5 mile (4 kilometer) radius. Alert level four advises residents to prepare for evacuation, while level five, the highest, orders evacuation, according to the agency. The last major eruption of Mount Asamo took place in September 2004, the agency said.

With 108 active volcanos, Japan is among the most seismically busy countries in the world. The country lies in the "Ring of Fire" - a series of volcanoes and fault lines that outline the Pacific Ocean.

In an alternative scenario, I am also mindful of the fact that if the space disaster involving nine crewman (as prophesied by Nostradamus) and an accident assembling the ISS does not occur in 2005 or 2008 as I have predicted, it could happen at this time instead. I also believe there will be great danger to Russian cosmonauts this year as well in separate incidents.

Ferry carrying 250 capsizes in Indonesia

CNN.com

January 11, 2009

A rescue operation is underway in central Indonesia after a passenger ferry capsized with about 250 people on board, the rescue chief told CNN on Sunday. So far, 18 passengers have been rescued, according to R. Arsono, the head of the local rescue agency in Makassar, South Sulawesi.

The Teratai Prima ferry left Pare Pare in South Sulawesi on Saturday evening and overturned off the coast of Majena in West Sulawesi, he said.

Indonesian navy, police and local search and rescue agencies are searching for the missing passengers, Arsono said.

Indonesia ferry disaster leaves 246 missing

January 11, 2009

JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- Rescue crews continued their search Monday for 246 people still missing a day after their ferry capsized off the coast of Indonesia. Of the 267 people the ferry was carrying, 21 have been rescued, said R. Arsono, the head of operations for the local search and rescue agency.

Severe weather, including heavy rain and strong winds, hampered rescue efforts late Sunday, according to local officials.

Indonesian military personnel and police joined Red Cross officials in rescue operations on Monday. Two navy ships were also deployed to join the rescue effort, said port officials.

The Teratai Prima ferry left Pare Pare on Sulawesi island in central Indonesia on Saturday evening for Samarinda, East Kalimantan. The ferry overturned about 4 a.m. Sunday off the coast of Majena in west Sulawesi after being pummeled by waves as high as 19 feet, said survivors.

Indonesians rely heavily on sea transport because it is the easiest way to navigate throughout the country's 17,000 islands.

Police: Australian fires create 'a holocaust'

February 9, 2009 0534 GMT

• At least 130 people dead; 200,000 hectares of land, 600 houses have burned
• Country's public broadcaster calls fires the worst in Australia's history
• Authorities hope mild weather will help the scores of firefighters
• Bushfires are fueled by high temperatures and strong winds

(CNN) -- Australia's raging wildfires have killed at least 130 people, decimating massive spans of land and leaving thousands of residents homeless, creating situation officials say they've never experienced. The fires have swept through the state of Victoria, leaving some firefighters and police to describe the destruction "as something of a holocaust," said Phil Shepherd, an inspector with the Victoria State Police. "We had an impact all over the state," Shepherd told CNN Monday, adding that two towns have been "completely wiped out."

In an interview with Australian television, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said he fears the situation will get worse before it gets better. "I think it's important that the nation braces itself for more bad news ... this is a little horror which few of us anticipated," said Rudd. Up to 400 Australian troops will be heading to affected areas to aid in rescue and recovery efforts and resettlement services will be provided to displaced families, Rudd said.

Police are calling the wildfires the worst in the nation's history. Firefighters on the scene have been working with other emergency service personnel to cut fire breaks while police erect roadblocks to evacuate residents.

The number of dead has exceeded the toll of 75 in the Ash Wednesday fires of 1983, and close to 200,000 hectares (500,000 acres) of land have burned, according to Kendra Jackson, leading senior constable of Australia's Victoria state police. Thousands of weary firefighters spent Sunday fighting a losing battle to contain the flames.

"It's an absolute feeling of helplessness," said Michelle Achison, who lives in a suburb of Victoria, the state most affected. "There are communities that are completely flattened. There's nothing at all. And each and every one of us knows somebody who will lose everything."

The death toll seemed to rise every hour Sunday as rescue workers discovered more bodies. Some victims perished inside cars while trying to flee the flames. Others had stayed put inside houses that were burned to their shells. "I've heard of sad stories of flames going over cars and maybe one person surviving," Dr. John Coleridge of Victoria's Alfred Hospital told reporters Sunday. "I suspect today they will find lots of cars with people who haven't survived."

Hospital officials treating burn victims said the wounds were the worst they have seen since the terrorist bombings in the Indonesian island of Bali in 2002. "Hell and all its fury has visited the good people of Victoria in the last 24 hours," Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told reporters while touring the fire-ravaged areas.

In a statement posted on the government's Web site, Queen Elizabeth II -- Australia's ceremonial head of state -- expressed her condolences to victims of the fires and praised rescue efforts of firefighters and other emergency personnel. "I was shocked and saddened to learn of the terrible toll being exacted by the fires this weekend. I send my heartfelt condolences to the families of all those who have died and my deep sympathy to the many that have lost their homes in this disaster," the statement said ...

As darkness descended, the flames continued to lick the night sky. Aerial views showed rivers of orange trickling in all directions amid the dense vegetation. "You look up at the sky and there's this orange glow. It's eerie," said Ethan Alexander, a Melbourne photographer who visited some of the affected areas.

More than 640 houses had been destroyed, said Sharon Merritt of the country's Fire Protection Association.

The largest blaze was centered in the Kinglake area, about 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Melbourne, the Australia's second most populated city and the capital of Victoria. One silver lining amid the devastation: the fires have not posed a significant threat to more populous areas, including Melbourne, as they sweep across rural outskirts of southeastern Australia, Walshe said. Still, said Achison, the Victoria resident, the state is so dry from lack of rain that there are no safe areas. "Last night, there was a grassfire on flat dry grass on one of the properties. And within minutes, six homes in a row were burned to the ground," she said. "These weren't people who were preparing to evacuate because they were told they weren't in any danger."

Severe floods submerge towns in northern England

• One police officer missing after rivers burst their banks in Cumbria, England
• 200 people airlifted to safety from the market town of Cockermouth
• Flooding began on Thursday after heavy rain swept over the region

November 20, 2009

London, England (CNN) -- Parts of Scotland and northern England were under several feet of water Friday morning after raging rivers burst their banks and flooded towns, officials said. A police officer was missing after flooding in Cumbria, near the border with Scotland, Cumbria police said Friday. An earlier report that 11 people were missing was incorrect, a police spokesman said.

The Cumbria town of Cockermouth was one of the worst hit. The Georgian market town sits at the junction of two rivers, the Cocker and the Derwent, which raged overnight and flooded the town center. The waters were so strong at times that rescuers could not send their boats against the flow to reach trapped residents, witnesses said.

Two bridges in Workington, about seven miles east of Cockermouth, collapsed because of the floods, Cumbria police said. Engineers are trying to assess bridges for structural damage, though the work is difficult while the waters remain high, police said. Witnesses said the nearby town of Keswick, about 10 miles to the southeast of Cockermouth, was also badly hit.

The Fire Service and Royal Air Force evacuated about 200 people by helicopter from Cockermouth's main street and town square, both cut off by the floodwaters, Cumbria police said. Police advised against all non-essential travel in Cumbria because many roads are closed and impassable. Several reception centers were set up at schools and leisure centers for residents forced from their homes, the police said.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown spoke with Cumbria's chief constable Friday morning and promised him any government help he needs, Brown's office at Downing Street said. "His thoughts are with all those who have been impacted by the floods and our thanks go to the emergency services, who continue their extraordinary efforts to help those affected," a statement from his office said. Environment Secretary Hilary Benn was in Cumbria on Friday to assess a government response, Downing Street said. There were no deaths reported from the floods, which began Thursday after heavy rain swept over the region.

One of the largest recorded totals was in Seathwaite, about 20 miles south of Cockermouth, known for being one of the wettest places in the United Kingdom. About 14.6 inches (372 millimeters) of rain fell there between Wednesday night and 4 a.m. Friday (11 p.m. ET Thursday), said forecaster Robin Thwaytes of the Met Office weather service. "It's a phenomenal amount of rain to come down in such a short period of time," he said.

Bad weather was forecast to continue across the United Kingdom over the next few days, with more heavy rain and gale-force winds bringing the continued risk of flooding, the Met Office said.

The heaviest of the rain is expected to continue to fall over Cumbria and western parts of Scotland, along with north Wales, the Met Office said. Another 3 to 4 inches (75 to 100 millimeters) of rain was expected over those regions Friday, with another 6 inches (150 millimeters) over the higher areas of Cumbria, the Met Office said.

"The rain will fall on areas that are already saturated, and we are working closely with agencies, local authorities and emergency services to ensure they are prepared," Met Office Chief Forecaster Bob Wilderspinou said.

Disgraced pastor Haggard admits second relationship with man

January 30, 2009

(CNN) -- Evangelical pastor Ted Haggard described Thursday as "fundamentally true" an assertion that he engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a 20-year-old male volunteer in 2006. Pastor Ted Haggard acknowledged on CNN's "Larry King Live" that he had a second relationship with a man. The incident occurred when the two men were in bed together, Grant Haas said in a videotaped interview played on CNN's "Larry King Live."

"He pretty much asked me if it was OK if he masturbated in front of me or masturbated in the bed next to me," Haas said. "I told him no, it would make me really uncomfortable. But he grabbed a bottle of lotion and started masturbating." Haas added, "(Haggard) used to say to me, 'You know what, Grant, you can become a man of God, and you can have a little bit of fun on the side."

Haggard, 52, said the incident was "an indicator of the compulsive behavior" that ruled him at the time.

However, he said he has been undergoing therapy during the two years since and "working it out."

Controversy involving Haggard first erupted in November 2006, when a former prostitute, Mike Jones, said the pastor had paid him for sex over three years and had used methamphetamine in his presence.

Haggard initially admitted in interviews that he received a massage from Jones but denied having sex with him. He also said he bought methamphetamine, but threw it away instead of using it.

Haggard is the former president of the National Association of Evangelicals, which claims to represent millions of people in 45,000 congregations nationwide. He was also the head pastor at New Life Church.

In a settlement with New Life, the church and Haggard agreed that he would retain his six-figure salary for a year, leave the Colorado Springs area, receive counseling and not speak publicly about what had happened for one year, according to a church staff member with knowledge of the settlement but who was not authorized to speak on the record.

In the CNN interview, Haggard credited Jones with having helped him by disclosing that information. "I think he rescued me. I'm very grateful to him," Haggard said. He said he would have lost the support of his wife of 30 years, Gail, and their five children "and been a drug addict" had he not been caught.

"I paid a heavy price. It was stupid," he said.

Turkish plane crashes at Amsterdam airport

February 25, 2009

• Turkish Airlines plane was flying from Istanbul to Amsterdam
• Airport officials: Crash happened at about 10:40 a.m. Wednesday
• Photographs show plane lying in a field, broken into three pieces
• Conflicting reports about whether anyone on the plane was killed

(CNN) -- A passenger jet carrying more than 130 people crashed into a field as it was coming into land in Amsterdam Wednesday. The Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-800 broke into three pieces on impact, but fatalities were initially thought to be minimal.

There were conflicting reports about whether anyone was killed on the plane, which had 127 passengers and seven crew members. The airline spokesman and Turkish Transportation Minister Binali Yildirim said no one had died, but an airline official told CNN sister station CNN-Turk that at least one person was confirmed dead. Twenty people were injured, the airline spokesman said.

A passenger on the plane who spoke to Turkish network DHA said he saw injured people trapped and squeezed between the seats when he walked off the plane. Journalist Ivan Watson in Istanbul said Turkish media quoted one crash survivor as saying that the back of the plane hit the ground first. "He said it was not an extremely horrible situation, it was like being in turbulence. He said it was more like a sudden impact, then we stopped."

The Boeing 737-800, which originated from Istanbul, Turkey, was trying to land at Schiphol International Airport when it went down at about 10:40 a.m. local time, Dutch airport officials said. Pictures from the scene showed the plane broken in three pieces. One tear was in front of the wing, splitting the "Turkish" logo in two, and a larger tear was farther back along he fuselage. Most of the injured were seated toward the back of the plane, which sustained the most damage, a passenger on the plane told Turkish station NTV. Many of the passengers simply walked off the plane through the cracks in the fuselage, witnesses told NTV.

Images from the scene showed medics treating passengers on the ground next to the buckled hulk of the plane, while firefighters and police examined the aircraft. Emergency exits were wide open and there was no signs of fire damage to the fuselage. Also visible was one of the aircraft's engines, apparently separated from the shattered remains of one of the wings. The plane landed in a flat farmer's field near the airport, RTL journalist Greg Crouch told CNN. He said the weather at the time was partly sunny with no wind or rain.

A bank manager who was a passenger on the plane told NTV that there were no emergency announcements. The crew's last word to the cabin was an announcement to fasten seatbelts and prepare for landing, the bank manager said. He said he felt the pilot giving more power to the engines before a sudden drop and then the crash. He described the crash as similar to a sudden impact that was over in a matter of seconds.

Kieran Daly, of Air Transport Intelligence said the impact had been severe but it could have been survivable because of the lack of fire. He added that there had been vast improvements in the materials used to build airplanes, meaning they did not burn as easily. Daly also said that the Boeing 737-800 is a reliable aircraft that has been successful and safe in service. "They really are pretty much state-of-the-art airlines with every imaginable technical benefit the industry has come up with over the years," Daly told CNN. "You would be optimistic that they would be quite survivable in an accident." Daly said the Turkish aviation industry has a "pretty good record" of safety, and that Turkish Airlines, the national carrier, has a "very good record." The airline's last accident was of a small commuter jet in 2003, he said. It was a fatal crash that happened at a remote airfield in eastern Turkey, he said. "Their mainline operation is safe," Daly said. "Their pilots are well thought of."