News Stories: October 24 - October 26
Aged Librarian Arrested For 19 Killings
Tuesday the 24th, Local and State, pg. 3
Written by Marcus Broden
Winston Rochelle, 68, was taken into custody this morning by police after a tip-off led investigators to examine the home of the elderly man. The police were following an investigation into the disappearances of Madeline Conner, 15, and Henry Sanders, 16, last month. The two youths were last seen leaving University High School together after classes on the 17th of last month, and were reported missing the following day. As police questioned businesses on the youth’s route to their nearby homes, eyewitnesses had placed the pair lounging at the Orlando Library on Colonial Drive.
Following a call-in tip, Police entered the home of Winston Rochelle, a librarian at the place where the two were last seen. In the cellar of the house the remains of Henry and Madeline were found, as well as what appeared to be the remains of at least seventeen other children. Medical examiners were able to identify the ill-preserved bodies of several children, ranging from 13 to 16, from missing persons cases reaching back to 1998. The parents of those boys and girls that have been identified have been informed by the police.
Rochelle was taken into custody without incident, and has promised to cooperate with authorities in identifying the remains.
Pageant Winner Found Dead in Bathroom
Wednesday the 25th, Local and State, pg. 1
Written by Julia Turner
The body of Carla Unger was found in her apartment this afternoon. Carla Unger, former Miss Florida, was 26, and police examiners believe that she died on Monday morning. Ms. Unger’s was discovered by her sister Regina when she visited the Winter Park apartment to speak with the late Carla. Regina declined to comment on the discovery to reporters.
Police and medical inspectors arrived on scene within hours, and examined the apartment for evidence of foul play, however all initial reports seem to reveal no sign of forced entry into the domicile. Police have restricted access to the apartment pending further investigation, releasing only scant details about the conditions within, though they have stated that they are not ruling out the possibility of an intruder previous to the woman’s death.
Medical examiners have expressed an equally dubious reaction to the case. Despite the concerns of her family, an autopsy of the body showed that the former Miss Florida had not resumed the drug use that lead to her embarrassment earlier in her career. We have received information that no toxins were found in Ms. Unger’s system, nor were there obviously fatal wounds. “As near as can be determined,” one medical examiner was quoted as saying, “she died of starvation after four days of confinement to her bathroom.”
Police are continuing to question family and friend of the late Ms. Unger, following multiple possibilities. Ms. Unger’s family has requested that well-wishers refrain from sending flowers to the service, instead preferring donations to the ONE.org group, the charity to which Carla had devoted herself over the last four years.
Mysterious Donor Saves Children’s Care-Center
Thursday the 26th, Local and State, pg. 3
Written by Trent Mason
Lucy Fenwick, primary organizer for the Daybreak House, awoke on Wednesday morning with the weight of dread on her shoulders. The Daybreak House, a nonprofit housing facility that provides a shelter for orphaned and homeless youths, was facing a dire crucible: though the Daybreak House provides far more comfortable and pleasant conditions for orphaned minors than typical state-run facilities, a flu-outbreak last year left medical bills that the organization has yet to cope with. With a stark increase in the costs of providing for it’s wards, Lucy went into work with the dread of fear that the Daybreak House, a final refuge and home for over sixty children with nowhere else to turn, might be shut down.
Lucy did not expect, as she signed for a package that afternoon, to receive a stack of books, a letter from an anonymous patron, and a letter from the Orlando branch of Western Union. As the letter descried, a beneficiary who wished to be un-disclosed had learned of the financial plight of the Daybreak House, and had made arrangements to assist the organization. As the letter from the Western Union explained, a block of funds had been forwarded to the Daybreak House for the explicit purpose of payment toward the remaining mortgages of the property (the donated funds ended up being $1.27 short of the entire debt.)
Though no further communication has been received by the Daybreak House, and the records of the transaction through Western Union have been sealed at the Client’s request, Lucy Fenwick had the following statement to the mysterious donor:
“The deepest thanks of everyone here goes out to you, whoever you are. We hope that you take heart in the fact that you have given all these children a second chance at a home. It gives us all hope to know that there is that kind of goodness in the world.”
- news stories courtesy the DST, Jake T., US2002022694