Salina: Ultra light crash kills 2

Two men were killed Saturday when their ultra-light plane crashed in a pasture about 15 miles northwest of Salina, authorities said.

Terrance Frederick Thornton, 64, of Culver, and Jerry Allen Holsinger, 60, of Petersburg, Va., apparently died upon impact, said Saline County Sheriff Glen Kochanowski.

Ernie Brockelman, who lives near the crash site, said when he saw the aircraft fly 200 to 300 feet above his home, nothing appeared to be wrong.

He lost sight of the plane as it went over the house, then heard a sputtering noise and a thud. When he went to another side of the house, he saw a cloud of smoke.

The Kansas Highway Patrol, which is investigating the accident, said the plane may have experienced mechanical problems.

Great Bend: One dead, two injured in Friday shooting

Police on Saturday were investigating a shooting in Great Bend that left one man dead and two others critically wounded.

Authorities identified the victim as Jessie Bittner, 23, of Great Bend.

Police arrested two men in connection with Friday night’s shooting, Police Chief Dean Akings said Saturday.

The two injured were taken to a Wichita hospital. No other details were available Saturday night.

Missouri: Death penalty sought in school shooting

Clay County prosecutors will seek the death penalty for a man accused of killing his son and wounding his wife in front of a school.

Jaswinder P. Singh, 41, is charged in Clay County with first-degree murder, first-degree assault and two counts of armed criminal action.

He is accused of shooting and killing his 9-year-old son, Kawaldeep Singh, in November outside the St. James School. He also is accused of shooting and wounding his wife and the boy’s mother, Mandeep Singh, in the same incident.

On Wednesday, prosecutors filed a notice of aggravating circumstances and intention to seek the death penalty.

Prosecutors argue Jaswinder Singh was attempting to commit another unlawful homicide when he shot his son; that he knowingly created a risk of death to more than one person, and that the murder was outrageously or wantonly vile.

Singh’s attorney, Patrick Berrigan, disagreed.

“This is not a case that seems to fit the typical death penalty case,” Berrigan said Friday. “It’s a homicide that clearly is the result of emotion and marital turmoil.”

Singh is being held in the Clay CountyJail without bond.