Attorney for dad of missing Hallandale Beach baby says evidence was damaged

The tiny bones recovered from a backyard grave have a story to tell: Are these the remains of Dontrell Melvin, a baby whose family didn’t report him missing for 18 months? And how was the baby killed?According to notes in the Hallandale Beach police lead investigator’s file, there was blunt force trauma to the child’s cranium after his death, likely caused during the search...

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Life after death: For wife, son of slain Nova Southeastern University professor Joseph Morrissey, the nightmare goes on

Joe Morrissey loved country music, but his wife, Kay, never paid much attention to it until after he died. How could the cheery mom of an adorable 5-year-old, who thanked God morning and night for the blessings of a loving husband and a comfortable home, relate to those weepy lyrics about tragedy and heartbreak?Before April 5, 2010, Kay and Joe couldn’t have been happier....

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South Florida has groups for cyclists of every stripe

For George Feliciano riding his bicycle is not just an escape. It’s a way of life. He has spent at least $15,000 on bicycles since he adopted the hobby in 1999. And he now owns five: two road bikes, two mountain bikes and a special edition retro bike. As he gained expertise, Feliciano began to ride with friends. In 2003, he co-founded Team Sindacato, a group of about 25 aficionados,...

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Drivers line up for $2.27 gas at the Finish Line in Sweetwater

Hundreds of cars were backed up for more than four blocks waiting for gas Wednesday at the Finish Line in Sweetwater.Drawing the crowd: a special promotion at the gas station and convenience store on 109th Avenue and West Flagler Street. Drivers started lining up at 5 a.m. to pay a cash price of $2.27 per gallon, close to a 50 percent savings. The promotion...

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Bagpipes and kilts come to South Florida on Saturday

As tradition calls for it, burly male competitors will be on hand to throw large, heavy wooden poles, some as far as 20 feet.But it’s not just the athletics that will keep fans of Southeast Florida’s 30th annual Scottish Festival entertained. Expect to hear Charlie Zahm’s Celtic music, Albannach band playing the drums and blowing bagpipes, and men wearing the kilts of their...

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Second Miami cop-killer suspect changes mind; plea deal falls apart yet again

With his brother finally mentally sound and agreeing to plead guilty, cop-killing suspect Dennis Escobar changed his mind Monday. No plea deal.And so the perplexing legal saga of the Escobar brothers, accused of murdering Miami Officer Victor Estefan in 1988, took yet another bizarre twist.The plea deal – 55 years in prison – for now has fallen apart again. ...

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Miami Dolphins hopeful on stadium referendum date

The Miami Dolphins are hopeful the Miami-Dade County Commission will approve a May 14 date for a referendum on the $400 million rehabilitation of their stadium, time enough to get South Florida in play for Super Bowl 50, a Dolphins spokesman said Saturday.Spokesman Ric Katz said the language of the proposed referendum has yet to be decided, and ultimately the commission decides...

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Miami police union challenges officer’s firing for fatal shooting

The Fraternal Order of Police filed a lawsuit against the city of Miami on Friday, asserting that an officer who fatally shot an unarmed motorist in 2011 was improperly fired from the police department.Officer Reynaldo Goyos shot and killed Travis McNeil as he sat in a car at a Little Haiti intersection. It was one of a string of seven deadly shootings of black men in the...

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‘Pain & Gain,’ a movie based on South Florida murders, is a painful reminder to victims’ families

Their dark schemes, hatched amid steroids and dumbbells, strip clubs and exotic women, ended in spasms of shocking violence.A millionaire businessman stripped of his fortune, tortured for weeks and left for dead in a burning car wreck. And a wealthy Hungarian couple murdered, their bodies hacked up and scattered in drums and buckets across South Florida.The bizarre and bloody...

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11-year-old dead, 2 others wounded in father’s shooting rampage

An 11-year-old boy died Thursday after his father opened fire on his family and then took his own life.The tragedy played out Wednesday night at Southwest 27th Avenue and 24th Street. Stefan Zuniga was mortally wounded and died, according to medical examiner records. His mother, Michelle Zuniga, 43, and 14-year-old sister, Lauren, are in critical condition at Jackson memorial...

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Election reform, bridge repairs top Miami-Dade Commission agenda

Miami-Dade commissioners are expected Wednesday to urge the state legislature to allow Election Day voters to drop off their absentee ballots at their local precincts, and ask the mayor to identify funding to repair and upgrade the county’s 203 bridges. Returning absentee ballots to local precincts was one of 13 recommendations in a report by an Election Advisory Group that...

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Scholastic Writing Awards recognizes four students’ creative writing skills

Hallee Meltzer, Andrea Villa, and Haley Zilberberg of School for Advanced Studies and Christopher Leesang of the Academy of Advanced Academics were recognized for Silver Key Awards in the 2013 Scholastic Writing Awards for their creative writing skills.Hallee became a regional finalist in humor, persuasive writing, and poetry categories. Andrea is being honored for...

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Hawkins withdraws his name from Jackson Health System board post

In a kerfuffle with echoes from political battles almost two decades ago, former Miami-Dade commissioner and state legislator Larry Hawkins announced Monday he was withdrawing his name from nomination to the Jackson Health System board.Hawkins, 68, who had been nominated to be the unions’ representative on the seven-member board, sent a letter to the clerk of courts saying,...

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What’s your Academy Awards IQ?

From the Pakistani military complex that once housed the elusive Osama bin Laden depicted in Zero Dark Thirty to the fiercely divided halls of Congress brought to life in Lincoln to the poverty-stricken streets of 19th century France captured in Les Miserables, the big screen in 2012 took audiences on a wide-ranging and captivating journey through history and across genres....

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Miami-Dade fugitive shot dead in Texas

The manhunt for escaped convict Alberto Morales ended early Saturday in a hail of gunfire as the fugitive was cornered by police and shot and killed in a small town in Texas.Authorities said Morales, who had somehow slipped out of his handcuffs since escaping police Monday, lunged at the officers with wooden sticks, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.Morales, 41, had...

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Boss of alleged Miami-Dade pot ring plans to plead guilty to conspiracy charges

Derrick Santiesteban, the boss of an alleged marijuana growhouse ring that authorities say made millions off selling potent pot between Miami and New York, faces his reckoning Friday afternoon. He plans to plead guilty to conspiracy charges along with his wife, Yadira, in Miami federal court, according to public records.Raul Ramirez, a growhouse caretaker for the Santiesteban...

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Crime Watch: Steer clear of these latest email scams

Today I want to share with you some interesting scam emails shared by readers. We truly need to be super-careful and not open or respond to any of them.I personally got the one from Kabul and had to laugh because this was a new one for me. I am not showing the email address, but trust me it looked very official especially when I do have friends that are stationed in Kabul....

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Former Miami Beach clinic head surrenders to FBI

Kathryn Abbate, former head of the Miami Beach Community Health Center, surrendered to the FBI on Wednesday, charged with defrauding federal healthcare agencies. She is scheduled to make her first court appearance at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.Abbate was fired last year after the center’s board alleged that she had diverted $6.8 million in funds to her personal use -- money that...

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Chinese New Year rings in at St. Thomas University

A Chinese Lunar New Year celebration was held at St. Thomas University on Sunday, Feb. 10, in Miami Gardens. The free event was open to the public and also featured an ancestral-veneration ceremony, lion dances and a reception. ...

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Carnival ship fire quickly extinguished as ship wallows in Gulf awaiting tug

The Carnival Triumph, a Galveston, Texas-based passenger cruise ship with the theme “Great Cities Around the World,” might have been better off sitting at port, as a court initially ordered. As of Monday morning the 14-year old ship was going nowhere, operating on emergency generator power after a fire Sunday in one of the diesel generators killed its propulsion. The fire...

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