|
(Continued from page 24)
APNewsBreak: SC woman who murdered 4 in family brought them together to pray before killings
• COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- Hours before she killed her two sons, her ex-husband and her stepmother and tried to frame it on one of the slain children, Susan Hendricks gathered her family together to pray. She said she was worried about her older son, Matthew, because he seemed so down after several people forgot his birthday the day before.
• "I know it sounds pretty fricking bizarre, but we pray a lot as a family," Hendricks told investigators in a room at the Pickens County Sheriff's Office, just hours after authorities discovered the bodies.
• They all got on their knees and held hands, Hendricks said. Less than 12 hours later, she said, she found Matthew, 23, dead from a gunshot wound to the head. When paramedics who rushed to the home found the bodies of her other family members, Hendricks claimed Matthew had first killed them before turning the gun on himself.
• In April, Hendricks pleaded guilty but mentally ill to all four of the Oct. 14, 2011, slayings and will spend the rest of her life in prison with no possibility of parole.
• The audio of her three-hour interview with investigators, as well as 324 pages of documents and more than 600 crime scene photos, were released for the first time in response to a Freedom of Information Act request from The Associated Press.
• ___
Tested by early trials, 2010 Republican GOP governors head into 2014 campaign more assured
• DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Republican governors took over statehouses across the country after the 2010 elections and immediately acted on promises to usher in a new era of budget cutting and conservative labor policies. Public backlash followed just as quickly; they watched their popularity drop while Democrats talked of political retribution.
• But now, as they gear up for their re-election campaigns, many GOP governors -- particularly those across the upper Midwest -- find themselves in positions of strength, having benefited from improving economies if not changes of heart over their policies.
• Their improved standing presents stark challenges for Democrats, who had long predicted voters would reject what they called Republican overreach.
(Continued on page 26)
|
|
