News Briefs
By The Associated Press
Judge lets woman test dead man's DNA
PITTSBURGH A woman will be allowed to have tests of a dead
man's DNA to determine if he is her father, a Pennsylvania appellate
court ruled.
A judge is calling the case the first of its kind in the state
Superior Court last week upheld a Common Pleas Court judge's
order for tests of blood and tissue from Gary Greenwood of Waynes
burg, who died in August 1989 after striking his head on a bathtub in
his home.
Lisa Sowden has told Greenwood's widow, Lois, that she intended
to claim part of Greenwood's estate. Greenwood, 42, president of a
home heating oil company, drafted no will but did leave an estate
worth more than $750,000, including antique cars.
"We broke up before he knew I was pregnant" with Lisa, who is now
19, said her mother, Susan Sowden of Clarksville, Greene County.
Susan Sowden said she dated Greenwood in high school and he
acknowledged he was the father after he learned of her child's birth
from a relative. His name appears on the woman's birth certificate.
"He used to come visit Lisa when she was little. Lisa re-established
the relationship when she was 17," Susan Sowden said.
Greenwood said she needed blood tests to prove Lisa Sowden was
Greenwood's daughter and also wouldn't allow the Greene County cor
oner to release blood and tissue samples that were stored in Allegheny
County after an autopsy.
Greenwood's attorney, James Hook, argued an 18-year statute of lim
itations for seeking child support also limits the amount of time in
which paternity can be established and therefore would invalidate's
Lisa Sowden's claim.
Senior Superior Court Judge Harry Montgomery called the case the
first of its kind in Pennsylvania, and agreed with two other Superior
Court judges that Grimes' ruling was just and proper.
Fight goes on over 'switched' babies
SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) While Hollywood works to bring the story
of babies "Switched at Birth" to the screen, the real-life players are
heading to court in a bitter tug of war over a 12-year-old girl.
"The preliminary script we reviewed for the movie had a happy end
ing and it's our hope that the real-life story will have a happy ending
also," said John Blakely, an attorney who is seeking visitation rights
for the biological parents of Kimberly, a hazel-eyed sixth-grader.
But Bob Mays, who raised the girl from birth only to discover he
was not her biological father, is worried Ernest and Regina Twigg
want shared custody of his only child.
"We're still on our roller coaster ride," Mays said.
The stories of two families who unknowingly raised the other's child
for more than nine years is being made into a television miniseries
to be aired over two nights on NBC, likely in early May, producer
Michael O'Hara said.
Kimberly, born at a tiny rural hospital in central Florida, went home
with the wrong parents Mays and his late wife, Barbara, who died
of cancer in 1981. The girl born to the Mayses, whom the Twiggs
named Arlena, died of a heart defect in 1988.
Just before Arlena's death, genetic tests showed she was not the
Twiggs' biological daughter.
Their search for their biological daughter led them back to Hardee
Memorial Hospital in Wauchula, where Mays and Twigg gave birth
within days of each other in winter 1978.
The Twiggs' quest eventually led to a three-year custody battle over
Kimberly. Mays, a Sarasota roofing salesman, rejected repeated
requests for genetic testing to resolve the mystery.
The impasse was broken when the Twiggs agreed in writing in Octo
ber 1989 not to seek custody of Kimberly, even if she turned out to be
their daughter. Under the agreement, the Twiggs had the option to
seek visitation.
Genetic tests showed the Twiggs were Kimberly's biological parents,
and psychologists were brought in to make recommendations if and
when meetings should occur. No timetable was set.
Mutant turtles said to cause violence
BOSTON (AP) Those lean green fighting machines known as
Teen-age Mutant Ninja Turtles are bringing violence to the classroom,
say teachers from around the country who responded to a survey.
"The Turtles encourage violent and anti-social behavior among young
children and have a disturbing effect on learning, behavior and play,"
said Diane Levin, an associate professor of education at Wheelock Col
lege who was co-author of the study.
Some adults may think the four turtles, named for Renaissance
painters, are more likely to spark a child's imagination than run-of
the-mill musclebound superheroes.
The study's general conclusion from the 73 educators from 19 states
who responded to the survey was that youngsters emulate the turtles'
karate chopping and pizza chomping, but little else.
Ninety-five percent of the respondents provided examples of aggres
sive behavior linked to the turtle characters, Levin said Sunday.
"The way the Ninja turtles work out their difficulties is by socking
each other and knocking each other," said survey respondent Hanne
Sonquist, a member of the board of the National Association for the
Education of Young Children.
"It's totally programmed and scripted so that many children who
watch a great deal of that kind of programming have less access to
the imagination," said Sonquist, who runs a workshop for parents and
young children in California.
Levin, who has written books on children's fascination with war play,
conceived the survey after parents and teachers asked her to examine
turtle mania. She conducted the study with Nancy Carlsson-Paige, an
associate professor of education at Lesley College in Cambridge.
"When the Teen-age Mutant Ninja Turtles came out, we immediately
began to get telephone calls from teachers and parents telling us how
kids were going crazy," she said.
Cincinnati zoo walrus pregnant again
CINCINNATI (AP) Aituk the walrus is pregnant again, and her
keepers at the Cincinnati Zoo are hoping for some good news this
spring.
An ultrasound examination has confirmed that the 3,000-pound, 13-
year-old walrus is well into her pregnancy and is carrying a healthy
and active fetus, zoo veterinarian Mark Campbell said.
Doug Feist, coordinator of the zoo's education programs, said he
thinks Aituk could deliver by the end of May perhaps much to her
relief.
"She's just moving slow and she's big as can be. She's very tight,
very round. Her flippers couldn't quite reach the ground," he said after
watching the walrus Saturday. "She would roll to the side and sigh."
Aituk and her 4,500-pound partner, Bruiser, are among few pairs of
breeding-age walruses in captivity worldwide, Feist said.
The zoo has been unable to coax a live birth from Aituk since she
arrived in 1987 from the Sea World park in San Diego. Bruiser, 13,
arrived the same year from Sea World at Aurora in northeastern Ohio.
Aituk gave birth to a stillborn pup in 1988. Zoo personnel believe she
aborted a pregnancy last year, Feist said.
Feist said it is difficult to ascertain whether a walrus is pregnant,
because of its size and because not much is known about the walrus
gestation process, since there have been only a few captive births.
Body of possible murder victim exhumed
WASHINGTON, Pa. (AP) The body of a man whose death alleg
edly was plotted by his wife and her teen-age lover will be exhumed
from a Washington County cemetery and examined for additional clues.
John D. Cassidy, 33, of Monongahela was fatally shot in the throat
at his home Feb. 12. His death was listed as a suicide.
Common Pleas Judge David Gilmore signed an exhumation order
Friday, which probably will be executed this week, county District
Attorney John Pettit said. Cassidy was buried at Round Hill Cemetery
in Elizabeth Township.
A coroner's inquest was scheduled for March 26.
"The manner of death is still listed as suicide, although I have no
doubt we are dealing with a homicide," county coroner Farrell Jackson
said. "The barrel of the shotgun had been stuck right up against his
Adam's apple."
cas.sidy admitted to police at the time of her arrest Monday that she
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