From the Tennova Healthcare Cleveland News Desk, here is your news for Wednesday, May 10th, on Mix 104-1 and Talk 101-3 The Buzz. Our top story, from
From the Tennova Healthcare Cleveland News Desk, here is your news for Wednesday, May 10th, on Mix 104-1 and Talk 101-3 The Buzz.
Our top story, from the Cleveland Daily Banner…
“I wanted to testify today because I want the truth to come out.”
Those are the words of Ashley Rutledge Hughes, who testified most of the day Monday in Bradley County Criminal Court.
She is the wife of the defendant, Jody Hughes, who is on trial for first-degree murder, kidnapping, tampering with evidence and conspiracy to tamper with evidence in the murder of Tyler Worth in October 2015.
Mrs. Hughes detailed the events that led to Worth’s death, mirroring what two other co-defendants — R.L. Jerger and Gus Hawkins — had testified to earlier in the trial. She spoke of the beginning of the incident, when her husband learned that Worth had allegedly stolen some drugs from him, to picking up Worth at a Green Drive address, to taking him to a remote location on Hughes Lake Road, where she said her husband shot Worth.
Mrs. Hughes said that she saw two shots fired by her husband, but in testimony earlier Monday said that she saw the three go to the back of the car, and that she did not see what was happening there. Mrs. Hughes said that she heard one shot, then Worth coming toward the front of the vehicle where he stumbled, and then Hughes firing what have been classified by the prosecution as the fatal shots in quick succession.
Once again, a request for withdrawal for Marble to be removed from the case was heard by Judge Sandra Donaghy. Earlier requests by Marble had been denied. On Monday, Hughes himself asked for Marble to be removed from the case.
Donaghy again denied the motion for removal of Marble as Hughes’ attorney. He was to begin his defense today in court, but it is not known if Hughes will testify on his own behalf.
The trial could end by this Thursday, Donaghy told the eight-woman, six-man jury (which includes two alternates). The jury has not been sequestered, but has been instructed not to read anything about the trial or listen to news reports on the proceedings.
From WRCB Channel 3…
Sunset Memorial Gardens in Cleveland is the target of complaints again with grass as tall as your knee and reports of a foul smell in the mausoleum again.
Channel 3 first reported about problems there four years ago, when the state shut down the cemetery after several complaints detailing bodily fluids leaking out of crypts.
The state reached an agreement with the owners last year, but residents tell Channel 3 that agreement has been broken.
Acting on a tip, Channel 3 showed up to find 2 feet of grass and weeds covering headstones. Crews spent Monday cutting the grass, but people say that’s not the only issue. They say the cemetery is once again being neglected.
Eddie Hodgin’s family members are devastated by what they found at Sunset Memorial Gardens over the weekend.
They found Hodgin’s final resting place flooded and his grave covered with plywood.
It’s been a year since the state and the owner of the cemetery reached an agreement in court to have an advisory board oversee the cemetery’s conditions. We’re told that board could dissolve after a year in it’s sole discretion, and it’s not clear if it is still active or not.
Cemetery staff would not comment on the current conditions, but the state tells us their investigators are looking into Hodgin’s complaint and one other filed last week. It seems there are more complaints to be heard.
The cemetery must provide a written response to all complaints and is supposed to be inspected for five years. Those inspections are random, but a spokesperson could not tell when the last inspection was. Channel 3 reached out to board members to find out when these families can expect repairs, and calls have not yet been returned.
From the Cleveland Daily Banner…
The Cleveland and Bradley County community has caught up to normal precipitation amounts with the year’s totals.
According to Craig Mullinax, vice president of Cleveland Utilities’ Water Division, precipitation before the recent Cleveland Board of Public Utilities CU board meeting had brought the year’s rainfall total almost equal to average total. Additional rainfall over the past week has kicked this above average.
Rainfall totals recorded at the utility’s Water Treatment Plant show Cleveland received 7.82 inches for the month (through April 27), which totaled 19.30 inches for the year. This was only .21 of an inch below the average of 19.51 (for the year), and there was a significant addition of rainfall during the weekend.
To keep pace after the first four months of the calendar year, the community will need to record 4.32 inches of rainfall in May, and 4.76 inches in June.
This has been your local and state news. You can get news anytime by visiting our website, mymix1041.com, powered by Pioneer Credit. From the Tennova Healthcare Cleveland News Desk, this is Jeremy Gault reporting.
