Closing Arguments Begin in Conn. Home Invasion Trial

A prosecutor told a jury that a Connecticut man charged with killing a woman and her two daughters has been playing a "blame game" against his co-defendant but that it took two men to carry out the brutal home invasion.

Prosecutor Gary Nicholson said Tuesday in his closing argument that Joshua Komisarjevsky was motivated not just by money but by his interest in 11-year-old Michaela Petit, whom he spotted with her mother earlier at a supermarket.

He's charged with sexually assaulting her.

Steven Hayes was convicted last year of raping and strangling Jennifer Hawke-Petit and killing her daughters, who died of smoke inhalation along with her sister after they were doused in gas and the house set on fire.

Hayes is on death row.

Nicholson says both men had a motive to kill the family because each had committed a sexual assault and were worried about their DNA.

TWC Provides Unemployment Assistance in Wildfire Areas

Workers in 23 Texas counties who lost their jobs due to wildfires have the opportunity to apply for job assistance.

The Texas Workforce Commission on Monday announced an expanded presidential disaster declaration includes unemployment help for Navarro County.

Anderson, Bastrop, Caldwell, Cass, Colorado, Fayette, Henderson, Hill, Gregg, Grimes, Harrison, Houston, Leon, Marion, Montgomery, Rusk, Smith, Travis, Upshur, Walker, Waller and Williamson counties previously were approved for unemployment assistance.

The deadline to seek employment help in Navarro County is Nov. 9. Various October deadlines apply for the other 22 counties.  See this webpage for more info.

The Texas Forest Service says more than 2,800 homes have been destroyed since the wildfire season began last November.

Bear Bites: Cutler Stands Tall

Good morning and welcome to Bear Bites. Well, we hope you make it a good morning, because last night's loss is still lingering.

• Cutler stood tall in the Bears' defeat. (Chicago Tribune)

• The Bears' safeties keep getting burned. (Chicago Tribune)

• Jerry Angelo says it will be a few weeks before Earl Bennett can return. (Chicago Sun-Times)

• Detroit is becoming a hostile location for visiting opponents. (Yahoo! Sports)

• Read an accurate, if irreverent, assessment of Lovie Smith's coaching prowess. (Kissing Suzy Kolber)

• Mike Ditka was nominated for the Mustached American of the Year. (Shutdown Corner)

Follow Grizzly Detail on Twitter.

Whoops! School Wrongly Put on Bad List

Delaware state education officials say a Wilmington middle school has been mistakenly listed as one of the worst in the state.

      

Secretary of Education Lillian Lowery announced the error regarding Bayard Middle School on Monday. The News Journal of Wilmington, Del., reports the state used faulty data when it picked Bayard to be part of the Partnership Zones program, which requires big changes at schools in return for extra money.

      
It's not known exactly what new programs will be implemented now at Bayard, however Lowery says she expects the school to continue reform work.

      

Officials double-checked the data for other schools on the Partnership Zone list and didn't find any other mistakes.

Jury to Hear Rest of Interview With Michael Jackson's Doctor

Jurors will hear the rest of a recording Tuesday of Michael Jackson's personal physician providing his account of the King of Pop's final hours, including an encounter with the superstar's family members at the hospital.

Transcripts of LAPD Interview: Part 1 | Part 2

On Friday, jurors in the doctor's involuntary manslaughter trial heard a portion of Conrad Murray's interview two days after Jackson's death with Los Angeles Police Department investigators. Murray's timeline of events included details about the drugs he administered to his famous patient, pleas for a powerful sedative from a restless Jackson and the realization that Jackson was no longer breathing.

"I came back to his bedside and was stunned in the sense that he wasn't breathing,'' Murray told LAPD investigators during his account of June 25, 2009

Jackson, 50, was pronounced dead later that day at Ronald Reagan UCLA  Medical Center. The coroner's report cited "acute propofol intoxication."

Murray administered the fatal dose of the powerful surgical anesthetic, then failed to properly monitor his patient at the rented Holmby Hills mansion, according to the prosecution. Witnesses called to the stand during the trial's first two weeks have testified that Murray was on the phone with his girlfriends and sending e-mails during critical minutes of June 25, 2009, but Murray claimed he only left Jackson's side for a few minutes.

Defense attorneys claim that it was during those few minutes that Jackson self-administered the fatal dose of propofol. Murray told investigators that Jackson even pleaded with him to let him inject the drug.

Conrad Murray Trial: Testimony Timeline, Who's Who

The recording ended Friday with Murray explaining to investigators what happened once Jackson was brought to the hospital. Court was not in session Monday, and jurors Tuesday are expected to hear Murray's account of events at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.

A transcript of the recording shows that Murray said he told Jackson's daughter, Paris, at the hospital that he did his best to save her father.

"She said, 'I know that Dr. Murray. At least I know. I know you tried  your best,'" Murray told investigators, according to the transcript. "'I know  you tried your best, but I'm really sad. You know, I will wake up in the  morning and I won't be able to see my daddy.' She cried and was very stark.''

He told investigators he held hands with Jackson family members. He told them he wanted an autopsy performed to find out what happened, according to the transcript.

"I gave Mr. Jackson love,'' Murray said in the interview. "I was his  friend. I cared about him. I tried to help him. that's all I was trying to  do.''

Piecing Together Timeline of the Day Jackson Died

The two-hour LAPD interview is considered an important piece of the prosecution's case. It had never been played before in public and a transcript had never been released.

Related: What Jackson Doc Did Not Tell Investigators

"By doing that, they allow the police to nail him to specific timelines, to specific actions he took, that may come back to haunt him," said attorney Tom Mesereau, who represented Jackson during his 2005 molestation trial.

The interview starts with Murray explaining to investigators that he had treated Jackson "off and on" since 2006 before receiving a call from the superstar's assistant in the spring of 2009. Michael Amir Williams told Murray that Jackson wanted him to accompany him during a series of upcoming London concerts, according to Murray's account.

Testimony revealed that Jackson agreed to pay Murray $150,000 a month.

Murray told investigators he was "a bit surprised" to learn that other doctors had given Jackson propofol, a drug the entertainer referred to as his "milk."

Murray said it was about 10:40 a.m., after the restless early hours of June 25, 2009, when Jackson said, "'Please, please give me something.'"

"So, I agreed at that time that I would switch over to the propofol and I would give him small amounts that would help him to sleep," Murray said during the interview. "I took all precautions that were available."

Earlier, a medical equipment executive testified the equipment in Jackson's bedroom was not adequate for administration of the surgical sedative.

Williams testified during the trial's first week that a "frantic" Murray called him from the Carolwood Drive estate and told him something was wrong with Jackson. Williams, in downtown LA at the time, called Jackson guard Alberto Alvarez, who ran to the mansion and found Murray upstairs in Jackson's bedroom.

Murray was conducting chest compressions with one hand, Alvarez testified.

"I said, 'Call 911,'" Murray told detectives.

Alvarez testified that Jackson's two older children were nearby when he arrived in the second-floor bedroom, and that Murray told him: "'Don't let them see their dad like this.'"

Alvarez claimed Murray ordered him to stash several vials of medicine in a bag before telling him to call 911.

Court is scheduled to resume Tuesday at about 8:45 a.m. Refresh this page for updates and to watch a livestream.

 

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Rain Dents Drought, Lake Levels Climb

Recent rain has raised some Texas lake levels as the state still deals with drought.

In North Texas, Lake Arlington was up nearly 2 feet after several inches of rain fell in North Texas. Most area lakes rose by only a few inches and some not at all.

Lake Brownwood, southwest of Fort Worth in central Texas, was 1,410 feet above mean sea level on Tuesday. The Brown County Water Improvement District this week was prepared to consider tighter water-use restrictions, but general manager Dennis Spinks says the action has been postponed.

Spinks says weekend rain, about 5 inches, raised Lake Brownwood by more than a foot and increased the area's water supply by several months.

Spinks on Monday told the Brownwood Bulletin that it "is a dent in the drought, but it is not a drought-breaker."

The Lower Colorado River Authority says the Lake Travis level rose by about a foot after the Austin area received more than 2 inches of rain last weekend.

While Bride Walks Down the Aisle, Maids' Purses Snatched From Fairfax Church

It’s supposed to be one of the happiest days of anyone’s life. But for six bridesmaids, a friend’s wedding turned into a nightmare after their purses were stolen right out of the church.

One of the bridesmaids, who is afraid to be identified because she is worried that a thief might figure out where she lives, says the six women arrived at Fairfax United Methodist Church Saturday just in time to put their belongings down and get to the ceremony. They stored their purses in a room below the sanctuary, hidden behind a podium that was up against a wall.

But about a half hour later, after the ceremony ended, the bridesmaids were approached by several women from the church, who asked if the bridesmaids had already grabbed their purses. That was when the bridesmaids knew something was wrong.

Among the things missing along with the purses is a digital camera, cell phones, cash, credit cards, driver’s licenses and cosmetics.

One bridesmaid had an iPhone in her purse and tracked it to the intersection of Coppermine Road and McNair Farms Drive in Herndon, but found nothing there and the phone eventually died. But the women say they lost much more than their valuables, they lost their sense of security.

“It’s just very alarming to think that while we were upstairs and our best friend was getting married, somebody was downstairs committing a horrible crime,” one of the bridesmaids told News4’s Aaron Gilchrist in an exclusive interview. “It was in such an odd spot and it was such a big area and they had such a little window of time.”

The bridesmaids say they thin police will probably have little luck tracking down the purses, but that they are keeping an eye on EBay and Craigslist in case their belongings show up.