Page 1 Roundup (09/13)

The Daily News: Long Island carpenter convicted of killing two prostitutes eyed in at least one of the unsolved Gilgo Beach murders

The New York Post: Woman shoots homeless man who asked her to move Porsche: cops

The New York Times: Judge dismisses criminal charges against gay conductor in deadly 2015 Amtrak derailment

The Wall Street Journal: China’s Newest Invasive Species: the Free-Range Skate Rat

Mug Shot Monday

Pretty cute, if you can look past those double-murder charges. 

Cannibal Frat Boy's Mug Shot Released

First mugshot of 'cannibal' frat boy 'who stabbed married couple to death and ate the husband's face' as he is finally transferred to jail after emerging from coma 

*Austin Harrouff is accused of stabbing John Stevens and Michelle Mishcon to death at their Florida home on August 14 

*The teen was found 'eating the face of Stevens and making animal noises' 

*It took several cops, a taser gun and police dogs to pull him off the victim 

* Harrouff fell into in a coma after the attack, as police believe he ingested caustic chemicals, and has been hospitalized since then 

*On Sunday he was charged with two counts of murder and one attempted murder charge for stabbing their neighbor, 47-year-old Jeff Fisher 

*Teen is expected to arrive at prison later this afternoon, police say Harrouff attends Florida State University where he is a member of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity 

*Sheriff's Department say Harrouff hasn't been able to provide a statement 

I wonder why no one is referring to this guy as a "thug" ...

Documentary Investigates 88 Suspicious Deaths of Gay Men in Sydney

Please tell me this will air in the U.S.

Towleroad reports that a new Australian multimedia project is aiming to investigate whether as many as 88 deaths in Sydney from the 1970s onward, including 30 unsolved cases, were gay hate crimes. Deep Water will include a documentary, a podcast, an online interactive hub and a four-part fictional drama.

Among the 30 unsolved murders, the project examines the case of U.S.-born Scott Johnson, right, who was found dead in 1998 near a well-known cruising area in Sydney. Johnson’s death was ruled a suicide the following year. However, in 2012 the New South Wales deputy state coroner overturned the suicide finding. She could not determine how Johnson died.

Learn more HERE.

Gov. Jerry Brown to Decide if Leslie Van Houten, Manson Family Murder, Will Go Free

Wow. Having grown up obsessed with the Tate-LaBianca murders, this one really touches a nerve. Leslie Van Houten was a Charles Manson follower who admitted in court testimony to stabbing one of the victims of the "family" -- Rosemary LaBianca -- 14 times in 1969. Van Houten says she and another woman first held Rosemary down as Charles “Tex” Watson stabbed to death husband Leno LaBianca before turning the knife on Mrs. LaBianca. Watson then handed the knife to Van Houten, whose stabbing frenzy may have occurred post-mortem. 

Van Houten admitted holding a pillow over the head of Rosemary La Bianca, left, while other cult members stabbed her and husband Leno, right, to death

On Thursday, a review board recommended parole for her, which is awaiting a final decision by Gov. Jerry Brown. I have ambivalent feelings about this. While I understand prison is supposed to be a place to rehabilitate criminals -- even though we know it's so dysfunctional it often makes them worse -- and I can imagine a 66-year-old convict with an exemplary prison record poses little threat to the general population, I'm not sure a crime this heinous warrants parole. (Or any crime this violent.) That being said, if she was sentenced with having the chance at parole, what message are we sending by not granting it if someone does everything right after doing something so wrong? Apparently she was originally sentenced to death when she was convicted in 1971 but then had that changed to life with the possibility of parole when the California Supreme Court outlawed the death penalty. (She later was retried twice and eventually was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole, hence where we are today.) What I would have liked to have seen is the Manson family members being sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, and save the option for people who have not committed violent offenses. Thoughts?

Leslie Van Houten, 19, is escorted by two deputy sheriffs as she leaves the courtroom in Los Angeles, Dec. 19, 1969

Van Houten, right, along with fellow Manson family members Susan Atkins, left, who died in prison in 2009,.and Patricia Krenwinkel, center, arrive in court in August 1970 

The Bird Sang

Male prostitutes who claimed their florist client died during 'raw sex' session in his New York apartment found guilty of murder 

Happy to see justice served for John Laubach, a fixture in Chelsea known for never leaving home without his parakeet. The guy was an oddball -- the guy never left home without his parrot, and I hate gimmicks -- who apparently frequented prostitutes, but no one deserves to die like this.

Date With Death

Horrifying news out of London. All I can say is be careful out there -- and thank god he's off the streets.

Suspected London serial killer used date rape drug to poison four men he met on gay dating websites: charges 

 The Daily News reports:

A chilling series of bodies found dumped in or near an east London graveyard has led to a man's arrest for murder, with claims he poisoned each of his victims after meeting them on gay dating websites. Suspected serial killer Stephen Port appeared in court Monday where he was charged with four counts of murder and four counts of administering a poison with intent to endanger life, the Evening Standard reported. The 40-year-old man's charges come a little more than a year after the body of his first alleged victim was found near his home in a churchyard at St. Margaret's Church in Barking. All four of the men, between the ages of 21 and 25, died from a lethal dose of the drug GHB, also known as the "date rape drug," autopsies found. "They were invited back to his home in Cooke Street, Barking, they were then given large amounts of a drug by the name of GHB and that caused them to die... and dumped their bodies in Barking cemeteries," Prosecutor Paul Nagle told the court, according to Kent Online. Anthony Patrick Walgate, 23, who was an aspiring fashion designer, was the first found dead a short distance from the church on June 19, 2014, the Standard reported. Two months later, the body of Gabriel Kovari, 22, was also found in the churchyard on Aug. 28. hen exactly one month later on Sept. 20, the body of aspiring chef Daniel Whitworth, 21, was found near his predecessor's exact same location. The same dog walker was said to have found Kovari and Whitworth's bodies. The deaths stopped for the next year before on September 14, the body of 25-year-old Jack Taylor was also found along the church's grounds.Initially the young men's deaths were considered suicides or overdoses. Kovari and Whitworth were friends and a court heard how Whitworth left a suicide note blaming himself for his friend's death. Authorities linked the four bodies as murder victims in October.

Condolences to the victims' loved ones.

Beverly Hills 90210MG

Hard to believe it was 25 years ago this week that Lyle and Erik Menendez savagely murdered their parents in their Beverly Hills home, then went on a shopping spree to end all shopping sprees. Their trials were mesmerizing -- Leslie Abramson's unruly defense and unrulier hair, the satellite tennis tour, the alleged sexual abuse at the hands of their father, Lyle's toupe! -- but after seducing enough jurors the first time around, the boys were finally convicted and put away for life. Prison hasn't put a cramp in their social lives -- Lyle's first jailhouse marriage ended when his wife found out he was "cheating"(!) on her with another penpal and Erik had a Twinkie for his wedding cake after tying the knot with Tammi in 1997 -- even if the public's thirst for news about them has faded. Before she dies, I'd love to see Barbara Walters do one last interview with the deadly duo to see if age and time behind bars has changed them at all, although somehow it doubt it has. Read HERE.

Deconstructing Philip

Police fear boy, 14, was 'infatuated with 24-year-old teacher and followed her into bathroom where he slashed her throat with box cutter after she rejected him' 

  THIS is a truly shocking story. The kid is a Woody Allen fan????

Remembering Rashawn Brazell

On my way home from work the other day I noticed an NYPD poster about Rashawn Brazell outside the subway station. I was sad to realize the authorities were no closer to finding the sicko who murdered and dismembered the young fashion student, but I was pleased that the police have no given up on this soon-to-be-labeled cold case. It's now been two years since the 19-year-old's body parts were found on subway tracks in NYC (Rashawn's head has never been found), so please, if you know something about this case, contact the NYPD at 1-800-577-TIPS (anonymous tipped are completely acceptable).

Last year I reported about his distraught mother, Desire Brazell-Jones, who said at the time: "I want who did this off the street, and I want the rest of my child. That's the bottom line." Please help her.

Information about a memorial fund for Rashawn is available here.

UPDATE: An arrest was finally made. The suspect was also convicted of murdering another man.