The Mandelbear's Musings

... isn't that considered murder?

Suicide of Rutgers University Freshman Tyler Clementi... (via ebonypearl and others)

Under New Jersey's invasion-of-privacy statutes, it is a fourth degree crime to collect or view images depicting nudity or sexual contact involving another individual without that person's consent, and it is a third degree crime to transmit or distribute such images. The penalty for conviction of a third degree offense can include a prison term of up to five years.

No, this is not a "prank".

It took a while for it to show up on the web, but the Merc this morning had a dimensioned drawing of Tatiana's enclosure in an article titled "Wall of tiger's S.F. Zoo pen too short". added 11:03 They also have a very good article written this afternoon, with a lot of detail about what actually went on.

The Wikipedia article now has a particularly nice picture (on the left, linked to larger version).

There's the usual collection of newspaper articles: TheStar [Toronto Zoo officials say their fence is higher] ABC News ["Natural Born Killers"] Herald Sun San Francisco Chronicle [there was an "Emergency Procedures" manual -- guess what didn't happen in all the confusion], the Merc ["A San Francisco Zoo employee who called 911 during the Christmas Day tiger attack told a dispatcher that a very agitated male was claiming to have been bitten by an animal, but the employee initially didn't believe him, according to communication police released this afternoon."] Not surprising, really.

This Associated Press article concentrates on the possible financial liability. This Reuters article quotes the person responsible for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' 16 foot height recommendation: "I've seen tigers, big male tigers, reach up to 12 feet high," said Tilson, also the Minnesota Zoo's conservation director. (added 11:33pm Here's an article on Tilson in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.) There are a few more details on the victims and the sequence of events at CTV.ca. The brothers Dhaliwal should be out of the hospital in time for their court date on charges of public intoxication and resisting arrest. The dead teen, Carlos Sousa Jr., was apparently trying to distract Tatiana from her initial attack on the older brother. He succeeded, but...

And just before posting, The Times has an article about the shoe print found on the fence. It may be a few more days before we learn the results of the "forensic analysis".

The San Francisco Chronicle, as one might expect, has the most detailed write-up:

San Francisco police are investigating the possibility that one of the victims in the fatal tiger mauling on Christmas Day climbed over a waist-high fence and then dangled a leg or other body part over the edge of a moat that kept the big cat away from the public, sources close to the investigation said Wednesday.

The minimal evidence found at the scene included a shoe and blood in an area between the gate and the edge of the 25- to 30-foot-wide moat, raising questions about what role, if any, the victims might have had in accidentally helping the animal escape.

The three victims, all young men from San Jose, were visiting the zoo together. They were all present just outside the tiger's grotto when the tiger escaped, killed 17-year-old Carlos Sousa Jr. with a savage slash to the throat, and injured the other two. The names of the survivors, who are brothers ages 19 and 23, have not been released.

The injured victims fled, leaving a trail of blood, which police believe the tiger followed for 300 yards up a zoo pathway. As the tiger cornered and attacked one of the brothers, four police officers arrived, distracted the animal and shot it dead.

[...]

Zoo director Manuel Mollinedo said it was also likely that the animal was provoked.

"Somebody created a situation that really agitated her and gave her some sort of a method to break out," Mollinedo said. "There is no possible way the cat could have made it out of there in a single leap. I would surmise that there was help.

"A couple of feet dangling over the edge could possibly have done it."

Sources said pinecones and sticks that were found in the moat might have been thrown at the animal. Those items could not have landed in the grotto naturally, they said.

However, police Sgt. Neville Gittens maintained that there was no reason to think that the victims were taunting the tiger.

One wonders what Sgt. Gittens has been smoking. For that matter, one wonders what the kids had been smoking. I probably ought to stop calling them "victims" now -- as far as I can tell the only innocent victim in this story is Tatania.

Additional articles in the Chron are here, [editorial] here, here [Outrage at City Hall], and here. The opening quote in the latter article just about sums it up:

"She was everything that a tiger is supposed to be," said big-cat expert Ronald Tilson. "She was essentially shot and killed for being a tiger."

It also recounts an alleged incident in 1997 where the tiger leaped across the moat and got a paw onto the dirt on the other side before slipping off. Not verified, at this point, but a leg over the side could have been all the help she needed.

More news: LA Times, BBC, Times Online, Seattle Times, Star-Telegram [has map], NY Times [points out that New Yorkers are in much more danger from neighbors with exotic pets]:

While tigers kept in zoos are typically well secured, there are other settings in which the animals have been a menace, or worse. In October 2003, Roy Horn of the magic and tiger-training team of Siegfried and Roy was mauled by a 400-pound white tiger during a show in Las Vegas. Mr. Horn had worked with the tiger for years, but is still undergoing rehabilitation and walks with a cane.

Just a day after the attack on Mr. Horn, New Yorkers had their own walk on the wild side when a 400-pound Bengal tiger and a five-foot-long caiman were discovered in an apartment in Harlem.

The police were alerted after the owner of the apartment, Antoine Yates, called to say he had been bitten by a pit bull. When they arrived, officers talked to neighbors who complained about large amounts of urine and a strong smell coming from the apartment.

To subdue the tiger, a police sniper rappelled down the side of the building and, as the tiger roared in the background, fired tranquilizer darts through an open fifth-floor window.

Keeping tigers in such confined spaces might be rare, and even cruel, but plenty of Americans feel comfortable keeping these animals in their backyards. Several years ago, there were more tigers in private hands in Texas than in all the nation's accredited zoos, according to Palmer Krantz III, the chairman of the board at the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

Stupid primates, indeed.

And, from a Google search for my Mom's name, this 10-day-old news article.

A couple more articles (here and here) about the Galloway Ridge murders[1]: it seems as though they -- or something -- may have been premeditated. (Added 12/13 she was researching poisons, too.)

My original post here; followups here and here.

Mom is still shaken, but seems to be dealing with it. She's a little grumpy, though understanding, at some of the new security theatre going on. They're doing things like locking all unsecured doors -- but this woman was employed by the victims, and signed in at the front door as usual. Mom may be going on 89 years old, but (thank the Gods) she's still as sharp as ever.

[1] It does sound like the title of a mystery, doesn't it? Actually I prefer Murder at Galloway Ridge. Trouble is, the only mystery is why somebody nominally human would do something like that. Might have to be a psychological thriller.

These bleary-eyed musings brought to you by a late bedtime and insufficient caffeine.

This article has the best information to date about the Galloway Ridge incident described in this downwhen post.

Seven years ago, Barbara Clark pleaded guilty to stealing more than $5,000 from a 90-year-old man at the Durham retirement community where she worked.

A judge gave her a suspended sentence and ordered Clark not to work anywhere she would have access to elderly people's property or possessions for three years.

On Thursday, Clark was charged with first-degree murder, accused of fatally beating a 92-year-old woman who had hired her as a housekeeper. The woman had asked Clark to come to her Fearrington Village retirement center apartment to discuss stolen checks.

There are more articles here, here, and here. (added here.) (12/8 Investigators: Financial Problems Spurred Maid to Attack Elderly Women -- that's no damned excuse.)

A little research might have kept her from being hired in the first place, but I don't think there was anything in her past that would have predicted that Clark would have become a killer when confronted. You want to give people a break, give them a second chance, give them the benefit of the doubt. Then something like this comes along...

WAWS FOX30 Online - Jacksonville - Man Robbed by Teen Girls, Thought He was Meeting MySpace Friend

A Jacksonville man says he was duped and robbed by two girls after attempting to meet with a woman he met on the internet.

The victim says he chatted online with a woman, known on her MySpace.com profile as “Natalia”, for two weeks before deciding to meet with her. He says her prfile showed sexy photos, and a blurb which said “just lookin’ for something fun”. That brief, friendly description was all he knew about her before they planned to meet.

That is when two girls who were 14 and 15-years-old, approached him saying they knew Natalia, the girl he thought he'd be meeting. They also said they knew where he worked at what car he drove.

[...]

"[One of the girls] took [a] gun out and put it to my head and told me to empty my pockets."

The girls didn't get much because the victim had forgotten his wallet. They let him go, unharmed, and he called police.

(from BoingBoing)