More charges expected in kidnap case
CANTON, N.Y. -- More charges are expected soon against a northern New York couple accused of kidnapping two young Amish sisters and sexually abusing them, a prosecutor said Sunday.
Computer hard drives and other potential evidence are still being collected from the home of Stephen Howells Jr. and Nicole Vaisey, said Mary Rain, district attorney for St. Lawrence County.
The pair were arrested Friday and charged with kidnapping with the intent to physically or sexually abuse the 7-year-old and 12-year-old sisters. Authorities say the couple prowled for easy targets and sexually abused the girls before letting them go after about 24 hours.
Howells, 39, and Vaisey, 25, are being held without bail and have a preliminary court appearance scheduled for Thursday.
The sisters were abducted Wednesday from a farm stand in front of the family's home in Oswegatchie, near the Canadian border.
Plane stowaway released from jail early
LOS ANGELES -- A stowaway who was recently ordered to spend 117 days in jail for violating probation by returning to Los Angeles International Airport served a fraction of her sentence when she was released Saturday because of overcrowding.
Marilyn Jean Hartman, 62, was released from the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood, Calif., shortly after 6 p.m., according to jail records.
She was released because of jail overcrowding and a state program that credits nonviolent misdemeanor offenders such as Hartman for good behavior, time served and other circumstances, Los Angeles County sheriff's office Deputy Crystal Hernandez said.
A court commissioner ordered Hartman on Wednesday to serve jail time for wandering around LAX on Aug. 7, a day after being ordered to stay away from the airport.
Man turns up; U.S. wants money back
FINDLAY, Ohio -- The government wants to recoup benefits paid to the daughters of a man who was declared legally dead but turned up alive years later.
Donald Miller Jr. disappeared in the 1980s, and a death ruling in 1994 allowed his family to get Social Security benefits. When the 62-year-old Miller resurfaced in August 2013, saying he had lived in other states before returning to Ohio, the government took notice.
Miller has tried unsuccessfully to undo his death. Even as he stood in court last year providing evidence of his existence, a Hancock County judge turned down a request to bring him back to life, citing a three-year limit for changing a death ruling. The judge did acknowledge it was problematic.
Now the Social Security Administration wants his two daughters to return more than $47,000 to cover benefits they received as teenagers, plus interest, his ex-wife, Robin Miller, told The Courier in Findlay. Letters about the requested repayments were sent in April, and the family was stunned, she said.
"If anybody has to pay this back, it should be him because we didn't do anything wrong," she said.
Donald Miller, of Fostoria, couldn't be reached for comment, and his attorney didn't return calls.
VA backlog grew despite Web program
ATLANTA -- The number of backlogged veterans' health care applications grew despite the Veterans Administration in 2010 introducing an online program touted as a quick, easy way for veterans to apply for benefits.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the number of backlogged applications from veterans across the country had grown to nearly 848,700 by July 2012, and Atlanta-based program analyst Kimberly Hughes discovered that as many as 47,786 veterans died while their applications were pending. Hughes said about one in three online applications met a five-day turnaround date for processing.
The VA's Office of Inspector General and the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs is now investigating the application backlog.
Assistant deputy undersecretary for health of administrative operations Philip Matkovsky said some backlogged applications may be duplicates from a previous information system and may be more than a decade old. Atlanta workers have been asked to contact all veterans with pending applications, he said.
-- COMPILED BY DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE STAFF FROM WIRE REPORTS
A Section on 08/18/2014