State News
2 men charged after 3 men found slain in rural Kentucky
GLASGOW — Two suspects charged in the killings of three men whose decomposed bodies were found by hunters have implicated themselves in statements to police, a prosecutor said Monday.
One suspect gave information that led investigators to the weapons used, Commonwealth’s Attorney Karen Davis said during an initial hearing for the men in Barren County District Court. She said she was considering seeking the death penalty.
The bodies were found Sunday in a field about three miles east of Cave City in rural south-central Kentucky, said State Police Trooper Charles Swiney.
“We can’t even speculate how long they had been out there,” Swiney said.
Miguel A. Velazquez, 20, of Cave City, was charged with three counts of murder and tampering with physical evidence, state police said. Also arrested was Marcos Bautista, 18, of Cave City. He was charged with complicity to murder, tampering with physical evidence and possession of marijuana.
The defendants were dressed in orange jail jumpsuits, bound at their hands and feet and showed no emotion during the hearing.
Davis said it was Velazquez who told officers where to find the weapons, but she would not comment on what they were.
The bodies of the three men were found in a thicket of trees near a farm pond. The suspects’ statements indicated that at least two were killed elsewhere and taken to the spot, Davis said.
“They were hidden to some degree by the foliage and brush,” the prosecutor said. Davis said the suspects’ statements indicated that the killings were “not spur of the moment.” The suspects indicated that money and items were stolen from the victims, Davis said.
“Whether that was their motive, I don’t know what was in their minds,” she told reporters after the hearing.
A judge ordered the defendants held without bond and scheduled a preliminary hearing for Nov. 30. Two public defenders represented them but declined comment to reporters. An interpreter was provided when Bautista indicated he needed one. Swiney said federal immigration officials were investigating whether the two suspects were in the country illegally.
Autopsies have been completed, but authorities did not release causes of death or the victims’ names. State police described the victims as Hispanic.
The Rev. Joel Rogers, pastor at St. Helen Catholic Church in Glasgow in south-central Kentucky, said the Hispanic community is close-knit and will be devastated by the triple slaying.
Rogers said people in the area mostly work at area farms and restaurants.
- State News
-
-
House passes $17.5B budget
The outcome was never in doubt and after three hours and 24 speeches the House passed its version of a $17.5 billion, project-filled, debt-laden two-year budget 65-33.
There are schools, water and sewer projects and roads for those who voted with Democratic leadership on the plan but there’s less money for education at all levels, cuts to corrections which may hit county jails hardest and few capital projects in Republican districts. One Republican, Rep. Jim Stewart of Flat Lick voted for the measure while one Democrat, Jim Wayne of Louisville voted against it. Stewart voted last week for a $371 million revenue package and he received the only major project in a Republican district. -
Ky. Senate panel OKs bill to spur organ donations
A Kentucky advocate for organ donations predicted that a bill advanced by a Senate panel Wednesday will spur more donations leading to lifesaving transplants.
The bill updates procedures for Kentuckians to make, alter or revoke wishes to make anatomical gifts. They could also expressly state they don’t wish to be donors. -
Proposed budget clears House panel
A Kentucky House committee approved a proposed $17.5 billion two-year state budget Tuesday night that includes cuts to higher education and seeks to trim the prison population by increasing use of parole for some nonviolent criminals to squeeze savings.
The spending blueprint proposes about $1.3 billion in general fund bonding for construction projects aimed at creating thousands of jobs at a time of stubbornly high unemployment. -
Bill opponents to miss out on school projects
Kentucky House members who opposed a revenue measure linked to balancing the next state budget will be empty-handed when school construction projects are doled out as part of the spending plan, Speaker Greg Stumbo said Monday.
-
Bill would require treatment for addicted pregnant women
There they sat, the ACLU, Right to Life and criminal defense attorneys side by side, taking the same position on legislation, strange bedfellows all opposed to a measure to test pregnant women for substance abuse.
House Bill 430, sponsored by Rep. Richard Henderson, D-Jeffersonville, would create the offense of alcohol or controlled substance endangerment of a child prior to birth and permit a court to sentence the pregnant mother to treatment for up to six months. -
Activists, some lawmakers try again to cap payday lender interest
Tammy Taylor was short of cash, so she resorted to a payday lender to get by. She thought it was a short-term fix, but she says it ended up costing her $42,000 over seven years and led her to file for bankruptcy. She typically took out multiple loans at one time holding as many as five, which cost her about $500 a month in interest.
-
House Democrats, Beshear look for ‘common ground’ on budget
House Democratic leaders met with Gov. Steve Beshear for about 45 minutes Monday afternoon to see if they can work together on a plan to balance a state budget facing more than a $1.4 billion shortfall for the next two years.
-
Beshear budget gets cool reception
Gov. Steve Beshear stunned many lawmakers Tuesday night by proposing to balance the next two-year budget with $780 million of revenue from video lottery terminals at race tracks – a proposal that has failed in the past and prospects for which look bleak now.
-
Revenue forecasts still call for major shortfall next two years
Even when it is good news on the fiscal front in Frankfort, it still is bad news.
-
Beshear says position on constitutional amendment consistent
When he ran for governor in 2007, Steve Beshear said he wanted the voters of Kentucky to have the chance to vote for or against expanded gambling. But now, Gov. Steve Beshear says a constitutional amendment is not necessary to pass legislation authorizing video lottery terminals at existing horse tracks.
- More State News Headlines
-
House passes $17.5B budget
