Nation briefs 8/11/03

Cosmonaut weds earthbound bride

HOUSTON -- The bride blew the groom a kiss. He blew one back -- from about 240 miles above terra firma.

Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko didn't let the fact that he's living aboard the international space station stop him from marrying his earthbound bride, Ekaterina Dmitriev, in the first wedding ever conducted from space.

The couple wed Sunday before family and friends in a private ceremony at Johnson Space Center in Houston, where Malenchenko took part via video. Texas law allows weddings in which one of the parties is not present.

"It was very sweet," said Joanne Woodward, the wedding planner.

A life-size cutout of the groom greeted guests at the wedding reception, at a restaurant decorated with silver stars and mannequins dressed as astronauts.

Murder suspect shoots 2 more before capture

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A man accused in a double homicide here shot a West Virginia sheriff's deputy, his own 18-year-old daughter and himself before being captured Saturday night, police said.

John Richard Mayhew was in critical condition with a chest wound and his daughter died in a hospital. The deputy was shot in the chest but was expected to recover.

Mayhew, 35, had been on the run since late Thursday. Police said he shot and killed his former wife and her fiance, then took his daughter hostage. Mayhew was charged with two counts of aggravated murder and kidnapping, Columbus homicide Detective Kathie Justice said.

Teens charged in stun-gun attacks on homeless

CLEVELAND -- Four teenagers were charged Saturday with attacking homeless people with a stun gun as they slept and videotaping the assaults.

Police said the teenagers carried out attacks on at least six homeless people sleeping on park benches or in doorways.

"I've never seen anything like it in 18 years, except on TV," said Sgt. Ray Burner. "Did you ever see the movie "Jackass?' Well, that's essentially what we're talking about."

Police said they were arrested after their car broke down on a downtown street and another motorist stopped to help at about 3:30 a.m. The teenagers ran, and the motorist talked to a nearby homeless man who told him about the attacks.

The motorist, 35-year-old Joseph Wright, flagged down a motorcycle police officer and told him what had happened.

"Talk about America's dumbest criminals," Wright said. "Their car was broken down in front of the Justice Center, and the camera and videocassettes were inside it."

Girl found in cooler died of malnutrition

KITTANNING, Pa. -- A 4-year-old girl who weighed 11 1/2 pounds when her body was found in a picnic cooler behind her home died of malnutrition and dehydration, an autopsy shows.

Armstrong County Coroner Robert Bower released the autopsy results Sunday for Kristen Tatar, confirming initial findings that the girl suffered from malnutrition, dehydration and neglect.

Kristen's body was found in the cooler Thursday as state police and child welfare officials searched the home in Parks Township, about 20 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. Officials have said they believed the girl had been dead for weeks.

The cooler had been wrapped in garbage bags and placed in a trash can near a shed in the back yard, authorities said.

James Tatar, 41, and Janet Crawford, 35, were being held without bond in the girl's death. A preliminary hearing for the couple was scheduled for Thursday.

Police said the couple had been acting as Kristen's parents, but that they didn't know if either adult was her biological parent.

Authorities said the girl was kept in a bedroom away from the rest of the family and neighbors told police they never even knew the couple had a daughter.

-- From wire reports