Miguel Torres trial jurors hear from victim's family, visit homicide scene

Jurors stepped out of the courtroom and onto a bus to view the scenes crucial to the high-profile case for a man who was once one of America's most wanted fugitives.


Day three of the case ended with jurors riding through downtown Reading. They were taken to the parking lot where Barbara Torres was shot and killed on Sept. 12, 2005.


Then, it was off to the parking lot on Poplar Street, where Barbie's white Cadillac Escalade was found.


Prosecutors are trying to convict Miguel Torres of first degree murder more than nine years after his estranged wife was shot and killed outside her work.


Jonathan Kurland, chief deputy district attorney, alleged Torres dumped the SUV in the lot moments after the cold-blooded killing, then fled the city in a van.


Eric Huber, owner of Huber Auto Rental, which was located in Lititz, Lancaster County, testified Torres rented a 1999 Chevrolet Express the morning of the murder. Huber said Torres provided a driver's license, proof of insurance and a major credit card to pay for the van, which was equipped with a bed.


"He said he was going on vacation," said Huber, who told the court the vacation was set to last 21 days.


Torres left his Lexus in the rental store's lot and said a family member would pick it up, Huber testified.


The van was found several months later, in 2006, at LaGuardia Airport in New York. A port authority officer told the court the van was abandoned and put in the impound lot. The Reading Police Department was contacted, and they investigated the scene at the airport in April 2006.


Four days after the murder, investigators with the Berks County Sheriff's Office and U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force responded to a Walmart near Huber Auto Rental. An investigator testified several items were purchased at the store with Torres' credit card a few hours before Barbie was killed. The investigator said Torres was seen on surveillance video buying duct tape, rope, cable ties, a knife and Vaseline.


During cross examination, Torres' attorney, Robert Kirwan, asked the investigator why they did not obtain a copy of the video. The investigator responded, "We were attempting to find him."


The jury also listened to hours of testimony from the victim's loved ones, who painted Torres as an abusive and possessive husband.


Raul Rivera, Barbie's stepfather, testified he was with Torres, driving together and looking for Barbie after she moved out of the couple's home.


"He pulled out a pistol and said, 'When we get there, if I see her with someone else, I'll kill him and I'll kill her,"' Rivera testified through a translator.


Kirwan grilled Rivera on his testimony and fired back this claim was never reported to police until almost nine years later.


Diana Rivera-O'Bryant, Barbie's aunt, told the court Barbie was upset and discussed their marital problems with her. She said her niece told her Mikey gets jealous, and one time he was so mad he put a gun in her mouth.


"If you ever try to leave me or leave this house again without my permission, I'm going to blow your brains out," Rivera-O'Bryant testified.


Rivera-O'Bryant said she tried to persuade her niece to file a protection from abuse order, but Barbie said she didn't want to because of Torres' stance in the community. He was a real-estate agent.


Kirwan fired questions at Rivera-O'Braynt about Barbie's affair with a married man and asked her why she waited nine years to tell police about it.


Next on the stand was Barbie's sister, Alicia Lebron. Tears rolled down her cheeks when she saw a picture of her sister. Lebron told the jury she went to the courthouse with Barbie a few days before she was murdered to file a PFA. She said Barbie was unable to fill it out because she was shaking, so she filled it out for her.


Lebron also read a letter aloud to the court, which was written in Miguel Torres' handwriting. The letter was written a few weeks before the murder, and after Barbie filed for divorce. The letter was found in their Exeter Township home.


"I hope you can all forgive me. Pray for me. I hope God forgives me," she read. "I'm sorry for what I've done. I couldn't take it anymore."


Torres went on to profess his love for Barbie. He said he felt alone in their home by himself and slept with her blouse to be close to her.


"Barbie, before I go any further, I want you to know I love you with all my heart. I need you. I miss you so much," Lebron read.


During cross examination, Kirwan told the court Barbie did not tell her sister everything, including the affair.


Lebron gave Torres a death stare after she walked off the stand.


Torres spent years on the run. He became the target of an international manhunt until his arrest in Italy in 2013.


Testimony will resume Thursday morning.






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Gov. Wolf puts moratorium on fracking in state parks and forrests

Governor Tom Wolf says he is taking steps to protect the environment.


He signed an executive order today, re-instating the ban on new drilling leases on public lands.


This means companies will not will allowed to expand the extraction of natural gas from state parks and forests.


Wolf's action today supersedes a past order signed by former Governor Tom Corbett. Environmentalists are praising the action.


But others are calling it a 'political move' and 'unnecessary.'.






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Pocono Medical Center nurses vote on deal to avoid strike

As nurses at the Poconos' largest hospital vote on a last-minute deal to avoid a strike, two state reports are revealing staffing issues that left some employees "overwhelmed" and "in tears."


A spokesman for Pocono Medical Center insisted that patient safety was never at risk though.



Roughly 500 PMC nurses have threatened to strike over staffing levels and patient safety concerns.


Thursday, nurses were voting on a tentative deal to avoid a walk-out beginning Sunday. Neither side offered details of the deal until the votes were counted Thursday night.



Meantime, a pair of reports from the Pennsylvania Department of Health is revealing just how serious those staffing concerns were.



After several employees complained, DOH inspectors showed up at the hospital unannounced on August 20 and 21. Regulators found Pocono Medical Center did not have adequate staffing in its emergency department and its cardiovascular telemetry (CVT) unit. Regulators said one employee felt "overwhelmed and was not able to safely care for the patients." Another "confirmed feeling nervous about completing their assignment due to the increased acuity needs of the patients."



Medical staffers told state inspectors there were sometimes 10 patients for every one medical worker. Employees said they sometimes had to give up dinner and even bathroom breaks to keep up with the patient load. One worker told inspectors "there were many days the staff was crying."



Hospital spokesman Geoffrey Roche acknowledged staffing issues, but insisted that patient safety was never at risk. He said PMC has since restructured and filled several open positions, but in a second unannounced visit in November, DOH found staffing levels still weren't adequate. They recommended placing PMC under what's called "immediate jeopardy," a federal classification that could put Medicare Medicaid funds at risk. Roche noted that the Federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services never actually designated the hospital as "immediate jeopardy."



The state health department now says that Pocono Medical Center is in compliance.



Neither the hospital nor JNESO, the nurses' union, would speak on camera about the state reports. Both sides agreed not to make any public statements Thursday while nurses voted on the new contract deal.






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Accused cop killer Eric Frein pleads not guilty

He's accused of killing one state trooper and wounding another before leading hundreds of officers on a seven week manhunt.


But Eric Frein said he didn't do it.



On Thursday, Frein appeared in court via video to plead not guilty to the charges against him.



Pike Country District Attorney Ray Tonkin said he's not considering a plea deal for Eric Frein at this point.


Meantime, the defense said it's considering filing for a change of venue.



No one brought Eric Frein to the Pike County Courthouse for his arraignment Thursday.


Instead the man charged with murder and terrorism pleaded not guilty via video.



"The case now begins in the court of common pleas of Pike County," said Pike County District Attorney, Raymond Tonkin. "We filed the criminal information detailing the formal charges against Eric Matthew Frein."



Another big issue yet to be resolved, a possible motion asking for a change of venue.



"I didn't say it was going to be easy," added Defense Co-Counsel, Michael Weinstein. "I just said we may have to look to change venue."



Both sides said there is a lot of information to look at from the night of September 12, 2014.


That's when police said Frein ambushed the state police barracks at Blooming Grove, killing Corporal Bryon Dickson, and injuring Trooper Alex Douglass.



"Trooper Douglas is scheduled to have surgery today in New York City," said Lt. Chris Paris, from the Blooming Grove Barracks. "We wish him well he is in very high spirits. He has a hip replacement scheduled.



Close to 1,000 state troopers helped in the seven week search for Eric Frein before the barracks could be re-opened.


Troopers working there said each day they think about Corporal Dickson, trooper Douglas and their families.



They also said each trooper 'is adjusting to the "New Normal" after this attack.



"I would say that the new normal is just trying to find a way to deal with those emotions in an effective manner and a healthy manner," said Paris.



As for when the trial will actually start, the prosecution said it depends on number of pre-trial motions filed in the case.


The defense said they don't anticipate a trial starting until 2016.






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Reading bank robbery suspect identified, still at large

Police have identified the man who, they said, robbed a bank in downtown Reading on Wednesday.


RPD obtained Thursday a felony robbery warrant for the arrest of Jason Lee Serrano, who remains at large.


Serrano, police said, entered the National Penn Bank at 21 N. Sixth St. in center city around 2:15 p.m., handed a teller a note demanding cash, and then made off with an undisclosed amount of money.


Tips from 69 News viewers helped investigators identify Serrano as the suspect, police said.


Anyone who knows of Serrano's whereabouts is asked to call Crime Alert Berks County at 877-373-9913.






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Reading superintendent: Slow down in school zones

Reading school officials are sounding the alarm about repeated speeding and aggressive driving in school zones around the city.


Khalid Mumin, the Reading School District superintendent, put out a message via social media, reminding the public to slow down and obey the traffic signs.


The move follows several complaints from community members and the recent pedestrian accident involving two students outside Riverside Elementary School.


"When you see things happen like that, it certainly makes you pause and really think about what you can do to try to have a situation like that not be repeated in the future," said Chris Celmer, the assistant superintendent of business support services.


But the problem is not limited to just one or two schools. Celmer said it is a district-wide issue, something crossing guard Rebecca Bush can attest to.


"It is every day. The morning and the afternoon. The parents are all in a real hurry. Nobody does the 15-mile-an-hour," Bush said.


Bush, a district crossing guard for three years, said she takes her own life into her hands every time she steps out in the street to cross children .


"I was in the middle with the stop sign up crossing families and a lady ran the red light and turned, and I was turning to go back to the curb and almost got hit by her," recalled Bush.


That is why the district is working with the Reading Police Department's traffic division to see what it can do differently to warn drivers of children in the area.


"We are all here. We want to make sure our children are safe, and that was really the premise behind the message. Let us make sure we are really looking out for our children," said Celmer.


The school district reminds school bus drivers, parents and other drivers to slow down and be vigilant.






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Crooks steal cash, gift cards from church near Bernville

Police are searching for the heartless crooks who stole hundreds of dollars in cash and gift cards from a small church near Bernville.


"It's just very discouraging to have somebody take those measures, especially from the church," said Dan Billings, pastor at Christ Little Tulpehocken Church in Jefferson Township.


Billings told 69 News that burglars broke into the small, centuries-old sanctuary during the daytime hours on Tuesday and made off with roughly $60 in cash and $300 in grocery store gift cards. The funds had been kept in an office desk, meant for those in-need.


"That kind of put a crimp in our budget for giving right now," he said.


According to police, the gift cards were used later that day at the Boyer's Markets in Jefferson Township and Womelsdorf. Video surveillance captured the purchases.


Billings told 69 News that he reviewed the video and recognized the two customers as men who previously sought help from the church.


"I guess the most hurtful thing was that it was somebody that we knew and that they had been here before, and instead of coming back and asking for additional help, they chose to take that route," he said. "We would have helped them again."


Police, however, are not yet identifying those two men. The investigation is ongoing.


"We’re not gonna make an arrest 'til we know for sure that it's these two people," said Trooper David Beohm, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania State Police Reading-based Troop L. "We have to know everything; did the people that used the gift cards, were they the ones that actually were in the church and took them?"


Meantime, Billings plans to increase security and likely won't keep cash and gift cards readily available for those in need.


"It's made us a little more aware that we need to be more careful about where we store things, and making sure they're a little bit more locked up than before," Billings said. "It's something we don't want to do, but I guess it's the times we live in."


Anyone with information about the theft is asked to call Crime Alert Berks County at 877-373-9913.






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Baby Lucas is on the mend after liver transplant

Little Lucas Fox, the son of a Northampton County couple, is on the mend following liver transplant surgery earlier this month.


Patty Miller Brunell, a friend of Amber and Joshua Fox of Tatamy, reports their child remains on a ventilator.


But he is alert, his lungs are healing and his new liver is working well.


She asked people to continue to pray for the boy, who will be one year old in February.


Lucas developed a leak in his left lung and a blocked intestine soon after he was born.


His parents got married last March in the neonatal intensive care unit of Saint Christopher's Hospital in Philadelphia. just so they could be by his side.


At six months old, he already had been through two major surgeries when his parents were told he needed a liver transplant.


They were told the medicines that helped him recover after those surgeries also weakened his liver.


No one in his family was a match.


But on Jan. 8, Lucas got a new liver after a donor was found.




















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Local congressman meets with local veterans

U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent stopped in Allentown on Thursday to discuss veterans affairs.


Dent visited the Allentown VA Outpatient Clinic to speak with veterans and staff on topics including better integration of civilian and veteran health care systems.


Dent said he wants to get a sense of what's happening at local clinics, given the challenges VA clinics have been facing across he country.


"We want to make sure the veterans in the region are able to access care in the best and most efficient way possible, and most convenient way," Dent said.


The congressman is the new chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs.






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Health Beat: Flex stent: Hope for peripheral arterial disease?

Working out on a treadmill? No sweat now for 71-year-old Mary Hammond, but a few months ago...


"I be walking through the mall and I couldn't walk anymore," Hammond said.


Hammond had peripheral arterial disease, or PAD. It's caused by buildup in the artery walls.


"I thought I was just getting old and my veins were getting ugly in my feet and stuff like that," said Hammond.


Doctors inserted a flex stent into Hammond's leg. Like the name suggests, it's flexible and self-expanding. It won't close, like other leg stents.


"Based upon preliminary information, it looks like it's going to be a quantum leap forward in terms of treating those vessels long term," explained Dr. Charles Lambert, medical director of Florida Hospital Pepin Heart Institute and Dr. Kiran C. Patel Research Institute.


The blood vessel before the flex stent has lots of clots. After the flex stent is in, the clots are cleared, and the artery is smoother.


"We hope to see much better long-term patency or it will stay open longer, because that's the principle problem in these vessels," Lambert explained.


Hammond's problem seems to be solved.


"I can walk," said Hammond. "I can walk great. I can walk through the mall 10 times and my legs wouldn't hurt me at all."


PAD can also be treated with exercise, medicines and bypass surgery in the legs. The flex stent is currently in the study phase right now.


DOWNLOAD and VIEW research summary and an in-depth interview with the doctor






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Wolf restores ban on new gas drilling leases

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has signed an executive order that ends a short-lived effort by former Gov. Tom Corbett to expand the extraction of natural gas from rock buried deep beneath Pennsylvania's state parks and forests.


The Democrat signed the order restoring a moratorium on new drilling leases involving public lands Thursday at Benjamin Rush State Park in northeast Philadelphia.


It supersedes an order that Republican Corbett signed in May and reinstates the ban former Gov. Ed Rendell, a Democrat, instituted in 2010.


"Natural gas development is vital to Pennsylvania's economy, but so is the economic and environmental viability of our parks and forests," said Wolf. "This is about striking the right balance. Our state parks and forests are unique assets that should be preserved, protected, and utilized by our residents for recreational purposes."


Environmentalists are praising the move, saying it reflects Wolf's support for strong environmental regulation, but the Marcellus Shale Coalition, an industry trade group, is sharply criticizing the governor, saying it's a political move that unnecessarily bans the safe development of natural gas.






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Hard Rock gets preliminary OK to enter Atlantic City casino market

The company that has populated the globe with Hard Rock casinos and restaurants has received preliminary approval to enter the Atlantic City casino market.


Seminole Hard Rock Entertainment received a statement of compliance Thursday. That is a preliminary step in becoming licensed to own a casino in New Jersey.


CEO James Allen did not reveal plans for any specific project. He said he has had conversations this month with Glenn Straub. The Florida developer is buying Revel out of bankruptcy.


No agreement has been reached for Hard Rock to partner with Straub on a purchase.


The company is owned by Florida's Seminole Indian tribe and has long had an interest in Atlantic City. It proposed a small rock 'n' roll themed casino hotel in 2011, but dropped the plan shortly afterward.


Hard Rock has had a cafe on the Atlantic City boardwalk since 1996.






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Air Products announces layoffs along with 1st quarter earnings

One of Lehigh County's largest employers has announced an increase in net income, even as it paid out severances for 450 laid off workers.



Back in September, Air Products announced a major restructuring plan, but at the time didn't announce any job cuts.


Now, the Trexlertown-based gas company says that reorganization includes the elimination of about 450 positions.


That number is for the entire global corporation.


The news comes as Air Products released strong first quarter results Thursday.


Air Products announced expenses for severance and other charges relating to the elimination of approximately 450 positions that occurred during the company's first fiscal quarter of 2015. Fifty additional jobs were eliminated in the fourth quarter of 2014.


The company reported net income of $335 million, up 17 percent from the previous year.


According to company officials, the restructuring is ongoing and there's no time table on when it will be complete.


No word yet on how many jobs were cut locally.






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Wolf puts hold on gas drilling leases

highest level since 1999.>>>eve TANNERY:Wolf put a hold on natural-gas drilling today. He signed an executive order to put a moratorium on drilling leases at state parks and forests this morning. This supercedes an order signed last May by former Governor Corbett... and restores a ban on new drilling leases from back in 2010. Environmentalists are behind Wolf in this decision... but the Marcellus Shale Coalition says the state will be losing revenue by unnecessarily banning






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Courthouse evacuated for bomb threat

during 69 News tonight.>>>EVE tannery; Bomb threats evacuated the Montgomery County Courthouse this morning. Police say the call came in around 8:30 ... and that caller said the courthouse was full of explosives and bombs. The courthouse was evacuated, and police and k9 units swept the building. a swearing-in ceremony scheduled for today for the County Commissioner has been moved to another building. Courthouse security says doors were reopened just before






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History's Headlines: Quiz show scandals found their way to Max Hess' door

In the 1950s, it was not unusual for executives of Max Hess’ Hess Brothers Department Store to get a phone call any hour of the day or night from their boss. But for Kenneth Hoffer, a lowly buyer in the store’s men’s department, it was like a bolt of lightning when his phone rang with a call from Hess sometime between 1:00 and 1:30 a.m. on August 2, 1955.


The first voice was that of Max “Maggie” Levine, the store’s peppy public relations head.


“Mr. Hoffer,” he said in his trademark punchy style, “Mr. Hess has something he would like to say to you.”


As Hoffer was later to tell a Congressional committee, Hess was direct and blunt.


“Hoffer, you are going to go on the $64,000 Question. You are going the entire way to the $64,000 Question and then you are going to lose.”


“I am?” said Hoffer


“You are,” Hess replied.


“Do you know what the consolation prize is?” asked Hess.


“I have heard it’s a Cadillac,” Hoffer said.


“Do you know what a Cadillac is worth in money?” said his boss.


“I believe it’s worth $4,000,” Hoffer replied.


“Well, that $4,000 is yours if you appear on the $64,000 Question,” Hoffer recalled Hess saying.


No one had to explain to Hoffer what the “$64,000 Question” was. The hottest game show on television, its audience sat riveted to the screen as the drama of two ordinary contestants had a shot at what in the 1950s was a huge pot of money.


Hoffer, who watched the show regularly, was not totally surprised to have Hess single him out for this opportunity. A former YMCA secretary with an in depth knowledge of the Bible, he had put in an application to be on the show and hoped to be asked questions in that category.


Hoffer was not the only one to get a call from Hess that night.


Furniture buyer David Gottlieb heard from his boss, letting him know that he was calling Hoffer. He told Gottlieb that having an ordinary guy like Hoffer on the air would be a great way to “plug” the store to a national audience. If he had to pay money to have Hoffer get a slot on the show, it would be worth the publicity.


What Hess was stepping into was that footnote to America’s cultural history known as the Quiz Show Scandals.


Quiz shows had been around on radio for years. But television took them to a higher level. It was an open secret that influence in the form of cash was used to get people on the air.


This became public in 1959 when Charles Van Doren, a contestant on one program, was shown to have been coached and provided with answers by the show’s producers. It was done to draw viewers to the show and to turn it into a “horse-race,” getting the public to root for Van Doren. None of this was illegal but many thought it was unethical.


But all that was still in the future in 1955. The morning after the fateful phone call, Hoffer, Levine and Gottlieb drove to New York. Here they began the process of trying to get Hoffer on the $64,000 Question.


They went to a public relations man, asking what they had to do to get Hoffer on the program. The publicist said Hess was crazy to think anybody could guarantee getting Hoffer all the way to the $64,000 Question.


On a return visit, Gottlieb went to another public relations firm, offering between $1,000 and $2,000 to get Hoffer on the quiz show. The PR man sniffed that the sum was way too small. After a series of phone conversations, Gottlieb later testified, Hess agreed to pay $10,000 to the publicists: $5,000 on the day Hoffer appeared, and $5,000 after his appearance.


August 9, 1955 was Hoffer’s day in the sun. Unfortunately the category that day was baseball, not the Bible.


Hoffer knew little about baseball and flubbed on the third question, unable to recall that New York Yankee fans’ nickname for player Tommy Henrich was Old Reliable. That erased the $512 in winnings Hoffer had accumulated at that point. Still, he managed to mention twice on the air that he was “employed by Hess’s Department store in Allentown.”


When Hoffer returned to his job at Hess’s he hoped to hear more about what he saw as his promised $4,000. For whatever reason, perhaps because he never made it to the $64,000 Question, Hess figured the agreement was off.


Over a year later, when Hoffer brought the subject up, Hess expressed annoyance. Later during the Christmas season, Hess fired Hoffer, calling him a crook for making a mistake of $3.00 on a personal purchase of Christmas lights. Hoffer moved to Reading and went to work for a small department store there.


No more would probably have been heard of the issue if the Van Doren scandal had not led to televised Congressional hearings.


On October 26, 1959, Hess was confronted in his store by a congressional investigator named James Kelly with a subpoena. Furious, he told the man to “drop dead” and suggested he tear up the subpoena before having him thrown out of the store. But a few days later Hess agreed to testify.


Hollywood stars were fearful, reported gossip columnist Dorothy Kilgallen, that Hess would “spill the beans” over some of the favors he had done over the years.


But Hess simply answered the questions presented to him, claiming he had never promised Hoffer $4,000 and that he had no idea where the money he had paid had gone but he had just been told this was just the way things were done. Hess got a verbal pat on the back for being forthright from the committee’s chairman, and more free publicity for the store then he could ever have paid for.






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Pimp Gives His Prostitutes V8 and Orange Juice

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A pimp on the streets describes in stunningly-candid detail to Ashley Judd and a sex trafficking survivor how he deals with the women he pimps. A Path Appeared on PBS -- MORE: ...


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Sex Trafficking Survivor Tries to Rescue Woman from Streets

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WATCH: A sex trafficking survivor patrols the streets of #Nashville looking for and trying to help women working the streets (click video for audio) -- A Path Appears: Tonight on Nightline...


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