Transcripts For WRC News4 At 6 20140331

Story. You see, that tatum has some distinctive tattoos on his arm. You can see them in the picture here. Did the dead man have the same tattoos . So far, this is all the chief is saying about the case. Chief, are you looking into the possibility that this man may be kahlil tatum, the suspect in relishas disappearance . Obviously, that is something twhae are looking into the, but until we have confirmation, we cant say whether it is or isnt. Reporter does it appear that his wounds were selfinfliktd . Right now are from what we can say, this appears to be a suicide, pat. Reporter they have been systematically searching the park for days and then at 1 00 this afternoon, you could tell that Something Big was happening. Top Ranking Police officials showed up at the scene. Csi techs, word quickly spread that the body of a man had been found here, and that they were looking into the possibility it might be kahlil tatum, the s suspect in the disappearance of relisha rudd. 8yearold relisha has been missing for weeks a, and the police say that she was last seen march 2nd, and sources say that she was at the Days Inn Motel on new york avenue, and sources say that police have evidence that on march 2nd, tatum went to the home depot and bought contractor bags and lime,ing as sometimes used in makeshift graves and later that day, he spent a lot of timet the kenilworth park. Police believe that tatum may have killed relisha, and buried her someplace in the park. And now this all began last week as the search for relisha, and the little girl has not been found, and the chief says that the search will continue on. And we are not finished. We have areas to search, and things that we need to do. And so the search for relisha continues on. And the chief says it could take days or maybe weeks. Live at the kenilworth park, pat collins, news4. Thank you, pat. The second search is under way along the an cost ya river, and the boats are in the area near benning road northeast for any signs of the missing girl. Jackie bensen continues the News Team Coverage with that sid of the story. Jackie . We want to show you what is going on and you can see right across there at the an cost ya river, Police Divers have been going in and out of the water. And the significance of this k section is that we are directly downstream from kenilworth Aquatic Gardens and that is is where the search for relisha rudd has been focused for days. Complicating the matters is yesterdays torrential rains which have made the water murkier than usual, and that is why earlier we saw the officers out there using a technology that appeared to allowed them to see underneath the water, and they isolated a certain area behind us just at the edge of the an cost ya in the park. And now the divers are n and they have been going in and out and take ing a much closer lookt that area. And so, again, no results that we have been made aware of in this search, but a very active search on the an cost ya here at an cost ya park. Jackie bensen, news4. There is a 70,000 reward for information on this case. Stay with us on air and online for any new developments ark and we will post breaking details on facebook and twitter. A man sentenced for 20 years for attempted murder is on the run in maryland. His name is larence godfrey, and police say he escaped from the dorsey run correctional facility. It is a minimum run prison in jessup. They say he used something to cut the razor wire fence, and then used a quilt to get over the wire. And a man has been sensed the to 25 years which is two years short of the sentence he could have been. He opened up fire and hit the white house eight times in 2011. Nobody was hurt, but he caused 100,000 of damage. And the prosecutors initially charged Ortega Hernandez with the attempting to assassinate president obama but they dropped that charge as part of the plea deal. And the deadline is six hours away from now for people to register for health care under the Affordable Care act. There is a lastminute push, and the people are out, and in Prince Georges County, some have waited up to five hours for the chance to sign up. Chris gordon joining us from the department of social services in landover with more on this. Chris . Well, good evening there. Is still an opportunity for you the apply for an extension, even though the deadline is midnight tonight, and more on that in a few moments, but first, the sense of urgency that we saw here today among the people trying to enroll. Reporter here in landover, long lines faced those who have wait waited to enroll in Affordable Care. I have waited three hours. I have to wait, because i need the insurance. Reporter at the Prince Georges County department of services here, it took extreme patience. This man waited fife hour, and he is not sure if he has completed everything that he needs. They gave me a letter and receipt, and said they will send it to me in if mail. Reporter you think that you have coverage . I hope i do. Reporter and so you leave and you still dont know . Yeah, it is crazy, yeah. Reporter and philip bazle brought his h 4yearold to the landover location, and he is a Security Guard who workings overnight, and he says that he cannot afford family insurance at his company. Well, it is very crowded and the system is down, and we dont know when it will be up, but this is the last chance that we have to sign up. So we will be waiting. Reporter as long as it yes, as long as it takes. Reporter the website maryland con nnection. Gov has bn having intermittent problems throughout the day. In Montgomery County, they were extremely busy at approximately 20 Affordable Care centers, and earlier in the day, they ran out of tickets for people who needed a navigator to help them enroll in insurance, and the al te alternative is to get an extension of time to apply. Here at the landover at the end of the day, they are handing out the applications to enroll for insurance by mail. Now, there are two things that you can do to request an extension. One, go to the website, Maryland Health connection. Goff, and it is one word, Maryland Health connection. Gov or call 18003961961. Now, if you were not able to write that down or you cant remember it, you can go to our website, nbcwashington. Com, and Search Health connection. That is the latest live from Prince Georges County, chris gordon, news4. New pictures tonight at the wall collapse that forced two families out of their homes in Montgomery County. This is the scene from chopper 4 tonight along Quince Orchard road in gaithersburg. It was last night when the retaining wall fell over and two homes were evacuated. It is awful. Who wants to lose their, you know, everything . Nobody wants that. Frightening. Worrisome. And wondering what they are going to do to repair it and shore it up so there is no further damage. The families say they dont know when they will be allowed back in their homesch and other areas are cleaning up after this weekends rain. Look at the video from chopper 4, and this is along the river in fredrick, maryland, and the river is overflowing on to a nearby playground, and in laurel, the wssc is releasing water through the dam. Officials were forced to close a commuter train level today, because of the high water levels. About 90 minutes from now a woman who was killed inside of her alexandria home will be remembered in a special s ceremony. The wems commission will honor ruthanne lodato, who is one of ten women who is going to be recognized for improving the lives of alexandria women and girls. Lodato was the founder of a childrens music program. She was shot and killed inside of her home last month. Police believe that her death is connected to the murders of two other high profile residential murders. And the governor has signed an extradition order for Charles Severance to come back to virginia. He is wanted for a weapons charge in Montgomery County, but they want to talk to him about the murders in alexandria county. And as tom sherwood is reporting, candidates are making las lastminute appeals, while election workers are are busy setting up. Reporter election gear for Capitol Hills Eastern Market began rolling in monday afternoon. Across the city, every precinct is being readied for the voters to arrive tuesday morning. We have 143 polling places open from 7 00 a. M. To 8 00 p. M. , and we have trained over 2,000 workers and deployed 1,600 poll workers. Six tables. Yes. While the workers worked, cam pages for mayor and other offices made all sorts of lastminute get out the vote appeals. Our economy is Getting Better reporter especially on the mobile equipment, and computers to reach more voters. I am running for mayor of washington, d. C. Reporter there are lots of robocalls to phones. Theo 8 00 p. M. Reporter and plenty of snail mail posters, too. It is time for the fresh start in d. C. Reporter and the candidates have been campaigning for more than a year, and now all of the candidates have come down to the final day. And we want to encourage all citizens to come out to vote whether you are registered or not, because with we have same day registration. Reporter in the district, tom sherwood, news4. Paying the price for potholes, and they are everywhere. How long do you have to wait before they are patched up and repaired . They heard a bang and then a bullet in the bathroom. Two similar crimes in t ms. Sam. And a nfl star comes to the city, and what is he here for . And we are seeing the the death tolls increasing with the difficult search after that mud slide in washington state, and jim handly has details from the live desk. Jim . Doreen, 24 people are confirmed dead in the mudslide that has devastated an entire community, and today, crews found more victims on the east side of the collapse. 30 people are still missing after officials revised the total number of missing down from 90 this weekend. For the families the wait is agonizing and the grief is hitting the searchers who are faced with finding the bodies. Those searchers are exhausted and some of them have hypothermia, and others are just overcome with the emotions of what they have seen in the past ten days of the search. And we got to this particular incident, and you could not even fathom what had happened. People can be gone so fast, and just tell the people that you love that you love them. Hold them close. The searchers say that there is no time line and the search could take months. In some cases the mud is 70 feet deep that they are searching through. And coming up tonight on the nightly news with Brian Williams is on news4 at 7 00. At the live desk, im jim handly. And now the california, there have been more than 150 aftershocks in the Los Angeles Area after that earthquake from friday. A camera from a childs bedroom shows the moments when it hit on the puente hills fault running right through downtown l. A. And they say a 7. 2 quake there could kill up to 17,000 people. And the Earthquake Center says that about 150,000 households could leave people homeless if that were to happen. And this is the problem on the roads. Scores of potholes is causing damage to the vehicles and your wallet. News4s transportation reporter adam tuss is in northwest d. C. To look at why it is taking so long to get the potholes fixed and when are the conditions going to improve . Well, wendy, it has been so bumpy ride here, and this is 46th and brandywine here. And as we get closer here, the pothole is not here anymore and it is rocks and dirt and everything that is underneath the road, and we are seeing it all across the area. It is a tough ride. They are everywhere. This is my street. I live right here. Reporter and c. Madison brewer has been here for about 30 years, and he says this is the worst he has ever seen. This is all old holes here. This hole over here for example, it was there last year. It is bigger this year. Reporter and sometimes you to hear the pothole to get an idea of how bad it is. So take a listen. In some cases it is enough to make the ground shake, and this one got a lot of maryland commuters e headed to bethesda. And this man drives by this pothole everyday. Well, it is an accident waiting the happen. I have had to avoid cars in the last couple of weeks, because i have seen them specifically weaving around. Reporter well, you are in luck, daniel, because as we were film i filming the road crew showed up to patch this hole. And how many are getting a patched . Over 18,000 in d. C. , and vdot handling over 5,000, and maryland leaders say they are patching thousands per week. Looking at the graphic the news4 iteam got claims that virginia drivers have made to vdot. Many reporting damage over 1,000, and sometimes as high as 2,000. Your c,yes, it is going to be happ happy when 2 road getsshoot smoother. And the road here in northwest not smooth. And the weather is warming up, and that is a good sign. The d. C. Pothole palooza is exp gt ed to kickoff, and the road crews will kick off into high gear now that the warmer temperatures are here. Adam tuss, news4. Thank you, adam. Breaking news out of Montgomery County, maryland state superintendent has rejected Montgomery County schools request for awa waiver to go bew the 180 required school days. They have gone six more than budgeted and what we dont know is when they will be made up, but rough news for a lot of people. Doug, you dont know this, but i was talking to you last night and raising the voice. A lot of people were. And i wu not the only one. And i kept hearing the voice, there is going to be no more snow, and i kept thinking, what am i walking in that looks like snow . No more problematic snowstorms, and that is what we were talking about and i did say on friday. And it was a problem. And which could see some snow out of it, but we thought it was west of the blue bridge and it was deaf fitly east of the blue ridge, and some of you picking up a couple of inches from chantilly to centerville, and Fairfax County picking up an inch of snow. That storm system can happen across the area, and yes, we are all ready for march to end. Yes, we are. And yes, and i was getting yelled at a lot, and i was trying to walk around the neighborhood and then i went home. Yes, that was not smart. No, not outside. And snowfall on the month of march is 12. 7 inches which is 11. 4 above average and the snowiest march since 1960 where we had 14 inches fall. And right now, the winds are out of the north at 17 Miles Per Hour and 67 degrees. Last night, doreen is yelling at me, and right now, i love that doug ckammerer guy. Yes. And now look at the difference of a day making. But look at a how things are going to be more unsettled as we go through the week. And 68 in culpeper and fredericksburg, and a nice afternoon and we would love for the afternoon to stay like this, and 23 is the current wind gusts from washington east coming in 30 Miles Per Hour, and those are gusty winds and helped us to stay on the warmer side. We are looking at being clear and stay ing thing that way ove. Right now, we are between two massive systems. The one that brought us rain and snow well out to the east, and out west, there is another storm bringing tornados to minneapolis, and the minnesota area, and se Severe Weather there, but for us, we are right in between. And we are going to watch the next system move in. We have milder air, but watch at what happens. It is going to move in, and still a nice day tomorrow, but then the front comes across the region and it just meanders here. If it is to the north side of d. C. , we are warm, and if it is to the south side, it is going to be cold. And that is the tough part of the forecast. And by thursday, a pressure developing. Once again, it is a all about where the front sets up, and some of us in the 50s and some of us in the 70s, and mostly cloudy and temperatures 57 to 62, and we get warmer than that if we get some sunshine, and 67 on wednesday, and thursday a chance of rain, and 54 on friday, and that is opening day on nats park, and that is cool. But, the weekend is not looking too bad, and dry for now with 63 saturday, and 58 sunday, and so not all bad, and all of the temperatures at least above the 50degree mark. All right. We are heading out to a press conference with the d. C. Police chief cathy lanier at kenilworth park. We will resume here again tomorrow with the search. I want to start out by thanking the volunteers here today, because this is both physically and mentally tedious work. Conducting the type of search that we have been doing here. For those who volunteered to help us from faithbased communities members here, and from payne elementary school, and some volunteers, and d. C. General shelter volunteers as well, and the volunteers from the kenilworth neighborhood who overwh overwhelmingly wanted to support us, and help us, and volunteers from black and missing foundation as well as off duty and retired Police Officers through the f. O. P. Lodge, and so for all of the volunteers who came out here to help us, again, i spoke with them, and i know it is both mentally and physically tedious work that we are asking them to help us with, and they did a fantastic job. So i thanks to all of the folks. Normally we dont confirm an identification until we have an official i. D. Confirmed, but i will say that in this case, i will give you a tentative identification on what we believe, the person that we have found here based on what we have right now, and so this is a tentative identification and not the official identification that will come from the official medical records, but we have tentatively identified the person that we found today of that of mr. Tatum. So everything that we have is consistent with what we know about his appearance and it is consistent with what information that we had to bring us here to begin with. So tentatively, it appears that the person that we found here today was in fact mr. Tatum, and it does still appear at this point that this was a suicide. So our work continues. We still have a lot to do and we are still here for the reason that we came here to begin with, and that is to look for relisha, and we will be here throughout the night, and the searches will continue tomorrow night, and we have areas a lot to search, and again, multiple layers of searches going on, and using the different means to search, and very big area. So, again, thank you to all of the volunteers and i will take a couple of quick questions. Do you know how long he has been here in the park . We dont know, and that is going to come from the medical examiners office. And now that you have a tentative identification, does the search narrow down or do you have the whole swath of the park or more of a concentrated. Ed concentrated area . No. We have a plan of how to search the area, and the area is why we are searching, and stick with that for now sh, and if there a things that lead us to believe that we need to expand or change that direction, we will. Chief, did you find a gun. I dont want to comment on the evidence at this point, but we are pretty comfortable that this is a suicide case. And chief, as a mother and in Law Enforcement officer for years, your reflections and thoughts . Well, i can say that the discovery was a shock for us. We were very focused on finding relisha, and that is what we came here for, but we never had any reason to believe that mr. Tatum left the area. We knew that he frequented this area, and he had been in this area, so, that is one of the reasons that we started and focused over here to begin with, so i cant say that it is a shock, but again, as i said before, you know, with the type of search that we have been doing here, this is very draining on those people who have been out here doing the searches day after day after day. That is the d. C. Police chief cathy lanier looking sad and exhausted as she reveals the tentative i. D. For the mans body found at kenilworths park as kahlil tatum who is the last man who was last seen with missing 8yearold relisha rudd. And they did call this a suicide. And relisha is still missing and the chief saying they will resume the searching tomorrow. This is what is coming up next on news4. Next, new details in the relentless hunt for those missing on the malaysian jetliner. And what is going to help from the u. S. And a disturbing crime. And two of the most right now at 6 30, a comm e community on high alert. A stray bullet is fired into a Northern Virginia home. I heard a loud boom that reflected off of the houses down below. Reporter and it is not the first time it happened in this area. And the show of support. A tree crushes the home of a woman who is blind and has no insurance and how the neighbors are stepping up to help. And a brutal attack near a local College Campus after a man beat a woman and held a knife to her neck and tried to sexually assault her. And first at 6 30, the bullet fired into the home in sterling, virginia, went through two walls and shower and only stopped when it hit a toilet seat cover. And the second time this month that a bullet has flown into someones home in Loudoun County. As bureau chief julie carey report, both neighborhoods are now on alert. Reporter patches of tape mark the place where the bullets went flying through the town home friday afternoon. And this neighbor did not know what it was at the time. I heard a loud boom that reflected off of the houses down below, and metallic click, but i walked out and i could not see anybody or anything. It was an unusual sound. Reporter the couple who lives here is not around today, but they say that the bullet passed through the bathroom wall and then shattered the glass door and drew their attention. They did not realize with what caused the damage until they were cleaning up, and found a spent bullet in the seat cover. The Loudoun County Sheriffs Department responded, but they did not know where the bullet came from. It has this mom worried. You are in the safety of your own home, and sitting down having dinner, and now something could happen, a stray bullet or whether they are cleaning the weapon or something, and it would went off or dleliberate, e dont know. Reporter and it is the second time this month that a sterling resident has been surprised by a bullet. In early march six miles away, this broad farms woman was startled to see a bullet coming through her home one afternoon. It almost hit her dog. The investigators have not solved the mystery of where the bullet came from in that neighborhood, but at this point, they dont believe that the two cases are related. The Georgetown University student charged in a ricin case is going to remain in custody. 19yearold Daniel Milzman of bethesda a Court Hearing today. The judge ordered him to remain in custody until the trial. He is accused of making the deadly toxin in his dorm room earlier this month. His lawyers say that he is suffering from depression, and planned to use it to kill himself, and the prosecution says he was trying to kill a classmate. And frightening attack of a woman who is walking blocks from a university and near a popular location for foodies. She was walking near Gallaudet University and new market. Mark segraves joins us live from that area. Mark . Yes, to give you a bert idea of where we are, just over the train tracks there is the noma Gallaudet University train station, and beyond that new york avenue. According to the police, the victim was walking between those train tracks and right here, when a man came up upon her from behind and put the knife right on her throat, and forced her behind one of the buildings, and hit her several times and tried to rain her. Police say that she was able to escape and call for help. Police are asking anyone who may have been in thi around 7 00 saturday evening to give them a call. I spoke with an official at gallaudet, and that i they t say that the student was not a faculty member or student. And we have had a Charter School that has popped up in the past few years and highend condos going in as we. Reporting live from the northeast, mark segraves, news4. And something that is considered a vehicle luxury is going to be a staple of all cars. The nastional Highway Transportation Administration ruled that all vehicles must have a rearview camera technology. It applies to any vehicle weighing less than 10,000 pounds. The government says it is an effort to stop backover accidents which account for 200 death deaths a year, and most of those killed are under the age of 5, and a quarter are aged over 70. Two new cameras are going up in near wheeler and duke streets, and the other is in the southbound lanes of South Patrick at gibbon. And both areas already have cameras in the opposite directions, and both intersections are ranked in the citys top ten for car crashes. More recall news for General Motors as the auto maker gets ready to face the families of the victims killed in their vehicles. This is all part of the recall of the faulty relay switches that are linked to 15 deaths. Families of those who died will be at the heargs. And today, gm also issued another recall for power steering hazards. The affected models include the cobalt, and the ion and the company says they will replace the defective parts. And back on march 12th, a uple won a 1 million power prize, and then two weeks later they won 50,000 in a pick four drawing and then the next day they won 1 million off of a scratch off ticket, and while collecting the last prize, they told the lottery officials quote, we are not finished yet. A crew helps a blind woman after a tree crushes her home. And boa boa is on the move. For the first time the cub is going to be venturing outside at the national zoo. Thall representatives are busy. Please hold. While you sit and wait me and my band are gonna play [ man ] please continue to hold. You need a real human being but all you got right now is me singing [ male announcer ] its time to bank human again. Get a real person anyte just by pressing zero. Td bank. Amecas most convenient bank. Good news forhe stunt famils there because of snow days and the school yearend on time. The School System was worried to add more days to calendar after the latest rod of snow, but after more calculations the School System realized it will meet the reqred number of scheduled hours that are required. And now after a preschool that was associated with a another group was investigated te s. I. L. E. Was shutdown after it was that she didow the in motion independent elementary school. The departme of education says that the school is noticensed by the state and nowrying to retormine if it req beased on the services that thschool is ofng. Virginia state senator creigh dds says that the Mental Health e rerm pas coonwealth ts year is e deeds 24yearold gus sbbis own life wita gu re aki at the national p club today in d. C. , deedsa said he never expected it. In my circumstance, i never felt afraid. I never felt afraid,ou know. Gus deeds had been released from the eme rgency custodyer hour befe the ,attack because beds in a psychiatr hospital could not be found for him, a virgia wmakers approved Se Health Care reform includi the evaluatiperiod. And now a ibute to local heroesho risked their lives to help othatam and w soil cseise to csh right intohe hous i m david culver in spfid, and howhe fai county fire and rescue is  er done ss was b youant it t hassfree. G i whethfios guy et th no analtract. We get that, too. 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