ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
MGN FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) – Gil Harrington, mother of slain student Morgan Harrington, summed up the state of affairs after Jesse Matthew entered a plea Wednesday in a decade-old sexual assault that has been linked by DNA evidence to two other crimes: “We’re one third of the way there.” Matthew’s surprise Alford plea – a type of guilty plea in which he acknowledged the evidence against him without an explicit admission of guilt – in Fairfax County shifted focus to what now looms: a capital murder trial in Albemarle County for the highly publicized abduction and death last year of University of Virginia student Hannah Graham. Also unresolved is whether Matthew will face criminal charges in Harrington’s death. Authorities say Matthew is linked to the Harrington case by DNA evidence but have not yet charged him. Matthew’s conviction in the Fairfax case could have an impact at the Graham trial. While prosecutors would likely be barred from mentioning the conviction in the guilt phase of that trial, they would be able to tell jurors about it in the sentencing phase to bolster their argument for a death penalty. “Now he’s convicted of some of the most serious crimes you can be convicted of,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Ray Morrogh told reporters outside court. In Fairfax, Matthew’s plea Wednesday came midtrial, after three days of testimony that included the victim’s harrowing account of fighting to prevent her assailant from raping her and DNA evidence linking Matthew to the crime. Prosecutors had just rested their case and the judge had just rejected defense lawyers’ effort to get the case tossed out of court. They argued that the DNA could have been inadvertently transferred by coming into contact with a common surface, and pointed out that nobody, including the victim, had been able to identify Matthew as being in the area at the time of the crime. But Judge David Schell called the evidence against Matthew overwhelming. Schell accepted the plea on all three charges: attempted capital murder, abduction with intent to defile and sexual assault. He set an Oct. 2 sentencing date, and could impose a sentence of up to life in prison. At a hearing next week, the victim, who flew back from India to testify, can give victim-impact testimony. “She wants to tell the judge how this harmed her, even to this day,” Morrogh said. The Associated Press generally does not identify sexual assault victims. Morrogh said he struck no plea deal with the defense. He declined to say whether he will seek a life sentence, but when asked the chances of whether Matthew will ever see the light of day, he said, “I hope nil.” The Alford plea takes the jury out of the sentencing equation. The judge alone will determine that. Willie McDuffy of Centreville, one of the jurors, said Wednesday morning’s testimony linking Matthew to the fingernail DNA left him believing Matthew was guilty, though he was keeping an open mind for the defense. He said he watched Matthew closely during the trial and described him as “kind of oblivious.” McDuffy said that the victim’s testimony was moving, and that he and the other jurors were a little disappointed to have the decision taken out of their hands. “I did feel for her. It did make me tear up a little bit,” McDuffy said. The victim told jurors Monday that her attacker grabbed her just steps from the door to her townhouse and carried her into a darkened area, where he ripped off her clothes and molested her. She fought and scratched him, yielding the crucial DNA evidence, until her attacker ran off as a bystander approached. “He physically picked her up like a baby … and carried her into the darkness,” Morrogh said in court Wednesday. “He did that to render her helpless for his purpose: to kill her and molest her for his pleasure.” Matthew’s family declined to comment as they left the courtroom. Gil Harrington, who sat through the entire trial, said she’s intent on pursuing justice for her daughter but for now is gratified that “this criminal will never hurt anyone again.” In Albemarle County, a hearing is scheduled later this month to set a trial date in Matthew’s capital murder case connected to Graham’s abduction and death.