29 nails

An X-ray shows nails embedded in the skull of 27-year-old Chen (Anthony) Liu whose decomposing body was discovered in Sydney's Georges River in November 2008. Police believe Chen was killed by being shot repeatedly in the head with a high-powered nail gun.

And I thought being cannibalized by your siblings was cruel.

Gold Porsche stolen

Or that's at least how it was first reported.

This Porsche is the only gold one registered in Russia. The owner says its value is $600,000 and reported it stolen after a prospective buyer didn't return from a test drive...as if you wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb driving this thing home.

In actuality, the car is merely painted gold and not plated gold and is only worth $90,000. And it seems as though it wasn't stolen at all. The police report states only a dispute broke out between owner and prospective owner about the value of the Porsche and police were needed to resolve the issue.

I think the car was probably stolen but when the thief found out it was only painted gold and worth almost ten times less than he was told, he brought it back, angry, humiliated and ready for a fight. So whats worse...a thief or a liar?

Bat'leth Bandits

The Klingons are back in the news

and will probably be making first contact in Colorado as someone has stolen one of their weapons and is robbing 7-11s with it:

A man used a "Star Trek Klingon type sword" to allegedly rob two Colorado Springs stores early Wednesday morning, police told The Denver Post.
The robber used a weapon described to police as a "Batleth" sword, according to the newspaper.
Police said the man was wearing a black mask, blue jeans and a black jacket, and fled on foot from both stores with an undisclosed amount of cash, The Denver Post reported.
He targeted two 7-11 stores in the span of an hour, starting shortly before 2 a.m., police said.
Bat'leth itself means "Sword of Honor" in Klingon.
A replica bat'leth was among the blades surrendered to British police as part of the 2006 knife amnesty.

I am curious as to how the 7-11 workers knew this was a Bat'leth...aren't most Trekkies retired by now?

Tracking the Baby Jesus

It's a seasonal crime perpetrated by the ultimate grinch -- snatching sweet baby Jesus, so tender and mild, from an al fresco nativity scene.
Now, churches are fighting back with GPS trackers that could lead police, as if guided by a bright star above, directly to the Son of God.
The GPS devices are being offered by BrickHouse Security, a New York-based company lending the hardware and tracking service free of charge to churches and synagogues for the holiday season.

Fantastic idea...they can also be used on the roaming spouse on New Year's Eve. That in itself will keep a few more party-goers home.

Nativity scene above is from the Little Brown Church in the Vale, Nashua, Iowa

Multi Use Lawn Ornaments

Another reason to have lots of Christmas lawn ornaments:

WEST SACRAMENTO — A man using a candy cane lawn ornament fended off a knife-wielding neighbor who had been attacking holiday guests at a Sacramento home. Police spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong said the man used the two-foot-tall plastic ornament to subdue the attacker until officers arrived.
He said the 49-year-old suspect became intoxicated, went over to a neighbor's home on Thanksgiving and began waving a kitchen knife at people gathered on the lawn.
He cut several peoples' clothing before one of them decided to fight back.
Police said the man with the knife was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. The guest who took up the candy cane was not arrested because police determined he acted in self-defense.

I can see how the candy cane could be used in a choke hold maneuver. I'll have to remember that.

Iowa women says, "Wee people responsible for flower garden damage."

The owner of the flower patch located at 103 E Ave., GC, informs me that it might be the 'wee people' damaging her precious Japanese poppies. "There is only this much of the poppy plant left," she reports, opening up her finger and thumb to about 2 inches which is, ironically, the probable height of said 'wee people." The Iowa woman was last seen heading to 'the store' to buy some 'Wee people be gone.' ?

update: may be a new 'mutant' breed of wee people-pesticides to blame

Thong bandits surrender

the latest from CNN crime files:

ARYADA, Colorado (AP) -- Police in a Colorado town say they've caught two "thong bandits" who used women's underwear to disguise themselves during a convenience store robbery.
Nineteen-year-old Joaquin Rico turned himself in Friday, two days after 24-year-old alleged accomplice Joseph R. Espinoza turned himself in.
A surveillance video released last week by police in Arvada, Colo., shows two unarmed men inside the convenience store. They stole an undisclosed amount of cash and cigarettes in the May 16 robbery.
One man wore a green thong and the other wore blue. Each thong barely covered the man's nose, mouth and chin and left the rest of his face exposed. One also wore a pink backpack in which he stuffed the stolen items

what a couple of butt heads!