ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, June 22, 1996 TAG: 9606240065
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-2 EDITION: METRO
Police agree to release suicide body
PONTIAC, Mich. - A dispute between authorities and the husband of a Virginia woman who committed suicide this week with Dr. Jack Kevorkian present has been resolved, a lawyer said Friday.
Attorney Michael Odette said Pontiac police had been holding the body to force Ralph Jones to return to Michigan and undergo questioning, but agreed to release the body after he presented her driver's license.
On Tuesday, the body of Lona Jones, 58, a nurse from Chester, Va., was left at North Oakland Medical Center in Pontiac by her husband. Jones had a malignant brain tumor, Kevorkian's attorneys said.
Pontiac police Sgt. Clarence Buggs said police agreed to release the body with proper identification at the prosecutor's prompting.
He denied that police were trying to force Jones to give a statement and said officials were simply trying to make sure they resolved an unusual death.
The Medical Examiner's office said Jones' body was still there Friday afternoon.
- Associated Press
Daily Press Inc. lays off nine employees
NEWPORT NEWS - Citing the continued slow growth of the area's defense industry-based economy, the Daily Press Inc. laid off nine editorial employees Friday.
``We have to scale the operation down slightly to adjust to the fact that the Peninsula economy is not supporting our advertising customers,'' said Jack W. Davis Jr., Daily Press president and publisher. ``We're optimistic about the long-term health of our area and our company, and we'll be adding resources and staff to start new ventures.''
Davis said the cuts would help position the company for future growth in its newspaper operations and for opportunities such as electronic publishing on the Internet.
The company employs 660 full- and part-time workers.
- Associated Press
Football player cleared of rape
RICHMOND - A Chesterfield County judge has cleared a Virginia State football player of rape, saying there was enough evidence that the sex may have been consensual.
Rodney Granger, 21, testified Thursday that he asked the freshman woman visiting his dorm room Dec. 3 whether she wanted to go to the Milky Way, meaning having sex with him.
The woman said she thought he meant the glow-in-the-dark stars affixed to the room's walls and ceiling. She claimed Granger raped her while others watched; Granger said the sex was consensual.
Circuit Judge John F. Daffron ruled after four hours of testimony that there was a reasonable doubt that Granger committed a crime.
``In hindsight, maybe [the woman] did put herself in that position, or maybe that wasn't the best exercise of judgment. That in no way is being held against her. I think that it happened, but I think there is a reasonable doubt,'' he said.
Granger, the school's starting quarterback, faced a possible five-years to life sentence if convicted. He started at quarterback last season.
- Associated Press
LENGTH: Medium: 66 linesby CNB