Saturday,  Sept. 21, 2013 • Vol. 15--No. 68 • 24 of 40

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• Wall 65, Lyman 20
• Webster 42, Florence/Henry 0
• West Central 51, Lennox 6
• Wilmot 66, Great Plains Lutheran 13
• Winner 48, Valentine, Neb. 13
• Wolsey-Wessington 43, Warner 0
• Woonsocket/Wessington Springs/Sanborn Central 40, Sunshine Bible Academy 14

Man guilty of trying to end woman's pregnancy

• RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) -- Rapid City jurors convicted a man Friday of spiking his ex-girlfriend's beverages with an herb in hopes she would abort his unborn child.
• The Pennington County jury took about four hours to find Alfredo Vargas, 36, guilty of attempted fetal homicide. He faces up to 25 years in prison when he's sentenced in November.
• Between February and May 2010, Vargas laced Lisa Komes' drinks with an herb that in large quantities can cause an abortion, prosecutors said. The substance he's accused of using is called pulegone, an herbal extract.
• Komes became suspicious of her drinks and had police test one, and they discovered the herb. She gave birth to a healthy baby boy in October 2010.
• The scientific evidence was helpful in the case, prosecutors said. But Deputy State's Attorney Scott Roetzel said he thinks the deciding factor for the jury was the statements Vargas made to family and friends about not wanting a baby.
• Prosecutors said recorded phone conversations between Vargas and his wife show that he had knowledge of the herb and didn't want his ex-girlfriend to have the baby, so he intended to hurt the fetus by poisoning her.
• The defense said the entire case hinged on the ex-girlfriend's word.
• Vargas' attorney, Paul Winter, said his client is a father and a grandfather and is not the kind of person who would do such a thing.
• Vargas was extradited from Puerto Rico to Rapid City for trial.

USD honors people who've given bodies to science

• VERMILLION, S.D. (AP) -- People who have given their bodies to science are being honored in Vermillion.
• The University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine and the School of Health Sciences is holding a memorial service Friday afternoon.

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