Kentucky: Dormitory fire death investigated as murder

The death of a Western Kentucky University freshman whose burned and stabbed body was found in her locked dorm room was being investigated as a murder, a school official said Friday in Bowling Green.

Investigators hoped that an autopsy of Katie Autry conducted Thursday could confirm their suspicion about what started the fire that gave her the fatal burns, University Police Chief Robert Deane said Thursday night. They believe the blaze was set deliberately.

Besides third-degree burns, Autry, 18, also had abrasions and puncture wounds on her neck and face, university officials said. She died Wednesday at a Nashville, Tenn., hospital.

Authorities initially considered whether the wounds and the fire was a suicide attempt but have since ruled that out.

“This is a murder investigation right now,” said university spokesman Bob Skipper.

Colorado: Threats keep students home from Columbine

Two-thirds of the students at Columbine High School stayed home Friday because of threats penciled on the wall of two bathrooms and a sidewalk.

The graffiti warned that “harm would come to others” on Friday. The first threat came late last week. On Monday, school officials in Littleton notified students and parents about the threat, said Rick Kaufman, a spokesman for the Jefferson County School District, which includes Columbine.

Sheriff’s spokeswoman Jacki Tallman said the threats did not specify an individual or group. “They were very vague and very short,” she said.

School officials locked down the high school on Friday, meaning students were not allowed to leave the campus and additional police were stationed inside buildings. No violence was reported.

Texas: Innocent plea entered in plague bacteria case

A noted university professor who is accused of lying about missing vials of plague bacteria in January pleaded innocent Friday to smuggling charges.

Texas Tech University researcher Thomas C. Butler, 61, remains free on bond in Lubbock.

Butler, who is internationally renowned for his plague research, had told the FBI that 30 vials of plague bacteria were missing from his laboratory, but then, according to court documents, he admitted he had accidentally destroyed them.

After further investigation, he was charged with sneaking bacteria into the country, illegally transporting it to labs in Fort Collins, Colo. and Fort Detrick, Md., and shipping some samples to Tanzania.

He also was accused of lying to federal agents and filing a false income tax return.