January 9 / 6:00 pm
Ice Closes Bradley Airport For Hours
(Windsor Locks-WTNH) _ Bradley international airport was forced to shut down today because of so much ice on the runways and on the planes. And many passengers were caught off guard and left stranded for hours.
 News Channel 8's Verna Collins reports.
Police Search for Killer of Young Murder Witness, Mother
(Bridgeport-WTNH) _ No arrest yet in the murder of an eight-year-old witness to a murder and his mother. The two were shot and killed in their home Thursday. are Police are not speculating on a connection between the boy and the killing he witnessed but the public certainly is.
News Channel 8's Jocelyn Sigue reports.
NY Judge Won't Honor Moxley Grand Jury Subpoena
(Stamford-AP) _ A new development in the 23-year-old killing of Greenwich teenager Martha Moxley. A New York judge has refused to honor a Connecticut subpoena ordering a private investigator to testify before a grand jury investigating Moxley's death. The judge said Connecticut prosecutors had not shown that the testimony of James Murphy was essential to the investigation. A one-judge grand jury in Bridgeport wants to question Murphy about his firm's work for the Skakel family. Thomas Skakel and his brother Michael, both nephews of the late Robert Kennedy, are suspects in Moxley's killing. Murphy's firm was hired in 1992 by the Skakel family to gather evidence to prove the boys' innocence, so Murphy said he didn't want to testify because of attorney-client privilege.
First Juvenile Tried as Adult Dies
(WTNH) _ A New Haven man who was convicted for being involved in the 1974 murder of a Yale student, has died. 39 year old Eric Washington had reportedly been sick for years. He was one of six young men convicted of killing Yale student Gary Stein. Washington was the first juvenile in Connecticut to be tried as an adult for murder.
Police Search for Bank Robber
(New Haven-WTNH) _ A robber is on the loose after a bank hold-up in New Haven Saturday morning. Police say someone walked into the New Haven Savings Bank on Grand Avenue, showed the teller a note, and made off with money. No word on how much.
Police are looking for a man about six feet tall, wearing a black leather coat and a black knit hat which had tan snow flakes on it.
Fire Related Deaths Drop
(AP) _ Fewer people are dying in fires across Connecticut. The state fire marshal's office says 32 people died in fires in 1998. That number has declined steadily since 1994, when 57 people died in fires in Connecticut. The fire marshal's office attributed last year's decline to increased education efforts and a mild winter, which put less strain on heating systems. Malfunctioning heating systems can cause fires. Fire officials caution that last year's low number of deaths is an unofficial count, and may increase as more fire departments file reports.
Principal Convicted of Sex Assault
(Vernon-AP) _ A high school principal has been convicted of sexually assaulting an eleven-year-old girl. Six jurors in Rockville Superior Court yesterday convicted 52-year-old William Cutler of Stafford Springs, who was a principal at the Enrico Fermi High School in Enfield until he was accused of the assault in 1996. During the trial, the girl, who was not a Fermi student, said that in 1995 and 1996 Cutler molested her at her home in Stafford. Cutler denied the charges. He will be sentenced in March, and has been ordered to register as a sex offender. He faces a maximum sentence of 11 years in prison.
Man Gets Prison Time for Sexual Assault
(Waterbury-AP) -- A Waterbury woman who admitted to having sexual contact with a 13-year-old girl has been sentenced to a year in prison. 24 year old Tammy Graziano pleaded guilty to a sexual assault charge last month. She was sentenced Friday. Prosecutors won't talk about the case because the victim is underage.
The girl's parents accused Graziano in December 1996 of trying to contact their daughter after the assault.
Student Accused of Threatening Teachers Wants Special Probation
(Cheshire-AP) _ A former high school student charged with threatening teachers in an underground newspaper has asked for a lenient form of probation. 19 year old Jed Molaver, a former Cheshire High School student, allegedly made the threats in a newspaper distributed off school grounds in June 1998. One of the threats said a teacher "needs a serious attitude adjustment, possibly by a hollow-point .45 to the head". Molaver has asked a judge to allow him to serve probation and have the charges erased if he stays out of trouble. A hearing is scheduled for January 19th.
Gerardi Stalker Returns to Jail After Violating Probation
(Vernon-AP) -- The man convicted of stalking his former fifth-grade teacher will spend the next 20 months behind bars for admitting to skipping sex-offender counseling sessions and violating other terms of his probation. But Brian Philbrick does not consider himself a threat to the community and says he should be let out of prison. Philbrick admitted to probation violations, which included meeting and misleading women on phone chat lines, dodging his sex therapy sessions and skipping town. Philbrick was sentenced to three years' probation after his 1996 conviction for stalking former Willington public school teacher, Kathy Gerardi.
DWI Magistrate Loses Job Following Drunk Driving Arrest
(Hartford-AP) _ A magistrate who had been busted for drunken driving won't be reappointed by Governor Rowland. Rowland declined to return Ronald Sullivan to his $75,000 a-year job after learning of a December accident that led to DWI and reckless driving charges. After wrecking his car, Sullivan's blood alcohol level measured at .275%, more than twice the legal limit. He turned himself in on Thursday.
New Consumer Protection Commissioner Named
(Hartford-AP) _ Governor Rowland has nominated former state Senate Majority Leader James Fleming to be commissioner of the Department of Consumer Protection.
Fleming will start February first, if he is approved by the Legislature. The job pays $75,500 per year. Fleming, a 43-year-old Simsbury resident, decided not to run for re-election last year, after 18 years as a Republican state lawmaker. If approved, he will replace Mark Shiffrin, who announced in November that he was stepping down. The Consumer Protection commissioner investigates allegations of fraud and handles many state licenses.
Impeachment Vote Could Take Weeks
(Washington, DC-AP) _
It could be the last week of January before the Senate takes any crucial votes on President Clinton's fate. Senators unanimously approved a trial blueprint yesterday. It calls for motions next Wednesday, and then, each side gets 24 hours for opening presentations. Each side would get to spread their presentations over three days. Once that much is concluded, the Senate decides whether to adjourn the trial or proceed with witnesses. The White House promises a vigorous defense.
House lead prosecutor Henry Hyde promises a compelling case.
State Sex Offender Website Online
(Hartford-WTNH) _ The State of Connecticut's Sex Offender Registry went online at the first of the year. Residents can look to see if a convicted sex offender is living in their neighborhood by accessing the information through the Department of Public Safety's website at www.state.ct.us/dps/
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