Cleveland: Suspect pleads innocent in priest’s death

A man recently fired from a Franciscan brother training program pleaded innocent Tuesday to charges that he fatally shot a Roman Catholic priest and set fire to the building.

Daniel Montgomery, 37, was ordered held without bond on charges of aggravated murder and aggravated arson in the slaying of the Rev. William Gulas.

Gulas’ body was found Saturday in the burning rectory at St. Stanislaus Church in the city’s Slavic Village neighborhood. The coroner said the 68-year-old priest had been shot in the chest and hit in the head.

Defense attorney Henry Hilow said Tuesday that he had not met with his client but planned to explore Montgomery’s mental health.

New York City: Master plan for WTC to be finished Jan. 31

A master plan for the World Trade Center site is scheduled to be completed by Jan. 31 under an accelerated schedule, officials said.

The plan will include details on a memorial, transportation hubs and the estimated cost of the project.

Seven alternative proposals for redeveloping the 16-acre site are to be unveiled Dec. 18.

A design for the memorial for the nearly 2,800 victims is to be chosen by Sept. 11, 2003, the second anniversary of the attack, after an international competition.

Arizona: Five family members found shot to death

Five family members were shot to death Tuesday, and police later arrested a man who blamed the killings on his slain brother-in-law, authorities said.

Police questioned Kemp Crowley after the five, including his wife’s 3-year-old son, were found dead in his Mesa home. Comments that he made when deputies first arrived did not “jibe with what we found in the house,” said Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Crowley, 43, who had a cut on his head, told arriving sheriff’s deputies he was assaulted and that his brother-in-law, whose body was found inside, was responsible for the killings.

The victims were identified as Crowley’s wife, Tammi Meininger; her son, Austin Potter; her brother, Mark Potter; her sister, Terri Borden; and her mother, Joyce Levi.

Dallas: Stepfather convicted of locking girl in closet

A man was convicted Tuesday of locking his 8-year-old stepdaughter in a filthy closet for months at a time without adequate food, water, clothes or a toilet.

Jurors deliberated a little more than an hour before finding Kenneth Atkinson guilty of causing serious bodily injury to a child.

The same jury will begin hearing testimony today in the penalty phase. Atkinson faces five years to life in prison.

A jury sentenced the girl’s mother, Barbara Atkinson, to life in prison in January.

The child was rescued after Atkinson told a neighbor nearly 18 months ago his stepdaughter was locked in a closet in the mobile home he shared with his wife.

Defense attorney Malcolm Dade had argued the girl’s abuse was orchestrated by Atkinson’s wife.

He said Atkinson was dominated and intimidated by his wife but eventually saved the girl’s life by confessing her whereabouts.