Boy, 15, tells police he fatally shot sister

OZARK, Ark. -- Authorities in western Arkansas say a 15-year-old boy has confessed to fatally shooting his older teen sister and that they are investigating the death as a homicide.

Franklin County Sheriff Anthony Boen says the brother appeared remorseful when he told investigators that he killed his 16-year-old sister on Sunday morning. Boen says he doesn't believe the shooting was an accident and that the teen didn't say why he shot his sibling.

Authorities found the girl's body in a bedroom at the family's home near Ozark. No one else was there.

Boen says the siblings' parents were out shopping when the shooting happened.

The boy's name has not been released because he's a juvenile. He's in custody in a nearby county and is expected to go before a judge Tuesday. - http://goo.gl/9SxE1

Illinois man killed neighbor with hammer over $20 debt

PEORIA HEIGHTS, Ill. -- A 31-year-old central Illinois man has been arrested and charged in the hammer-bludgeoning death of his 81-year-old neighbor over a $20 debt.

The (Peoria) Journal Star reports ( http://bit.ly/yr90ZW) that police in Peoria Heights arrested Joshua Peecher early Sunday and charged him with murder and possessing a stolen vehicle.

Police Chief Dustin Sutton says Peecher killed his neighbor Billy Price with a hammer on Thursday. The neighbor had borrowed $20 from Peecher. The police chief says Peecher was angry about the unpaid debt. He says Peecher stole Price's vehicle after the murder.

An autopsy Saturday found Price died of multiple head injuries.

Peecher is in custody at Peoria County Jail. - http://goo.gl/8yGGl

Falling television kills 4-year-old girl

UNIVERSITY PARK (AP) - A suburban Chicago girl has died after a television fell on her, the third such fatality in recent months.

Authorities say 4-year-old Gianna Hadjis of University Park died Sunday afternoon at a nearby hospital after the accident at her home.

University Park Police Chief Mel Davis says the girl was struck by a box-style TV when it fell in what appeared to be "a horrible accident." He says adults were present.

Falling TVs have caused two other child deaths in the Chicago area recently. A 3-year-old Englewood girl died in November and a 6-year-old Arlington Heights boy died in October. - http://goo.gl/bT9Nm

1 dead in hunting accident in western Illinois

WILLIAMSFIELD, Ill. -- Authorities say a 34-year-old man died after being shot in a hunting accident in western Illinois Sunday afternoon.

The Knox County coroner's office pronounced the man dead at the scene in rural Williamsfield. The man was one of three deer hunters in the area.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources says a 59-year-old man from Trivoli was taken to a hospital for reasons unrelated to firearms.

The Knox County Sheriff's Department and the Illinois Conservation Police are investigating. - http://goo.gl/EWX4m

Dad dies while ice fishing with son in Knox County

VICTORIA - Authorities say a man is dead following an ice fishing accident in western Illinois.

Knox County Sheriff's Department officials say a 50-year-old man was pulled from Long Lake near Victoria Sunday afternoon and pronounced dead several hours later at a nearby hospital.

The man and his son were ice fishing. The son left the lake and came back to find a hole in the ice and fishing equipment partially submerged.

Dive teams from Peoria County and Coppas Creek assisted the Knox County Sheriff's Department.

The weather Sunday was sunny with highs in the upper 30s. - http://goo.gl/DpAeW

One dead in Mount Vernon house fire

MOUNT VERNON - Officials from the Illinois State Fire Marshal's office have been called in to investigate a house fire that killed one man overnight in Mount Vernon.

The fire happened at 1218 South 23rd St. Firefighters were called to the scene at 9:54 p.m. Sunday and found the house was engulfed by flames and smoke on three sides, said Lt. Scott Pennington of the Mount Vernon Fire Department.

Firefighters were able to enter the house through the back, and that's when they found that the home's occupant, a man whose identity has not been released, perished in the fire.

One of the fire department's oxygen tanks exploded while crews were battling the blaze, but other than a minor foot injury, no firefighters were seriously hurt in the event, Pennington said. - http://goo.gl/IlFEB

Centralia Family Escapes Safely From Fire That Destroyed Their Home

A Centralia family escaped safely as their home went up in flames early Monday morning. Centralia fire officials say the home occupied by the Jason Ashford family was fully engulfed in flames upon their arrival. Ashford's wife had woke up and discovered the house was on fire. She got out safely with her husband and two children. Fire officials say the single story home had smoke detectors, but they apparently were not working. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. The fire was so hot, it melted siding on two adjoining homes. All available firemen were called in to help fight the blaze. They report no problems in fighting the fire. Firemen were on the scene for about three hours. The Red Cross was called in to assist the family. They were not able to save anything from the burning home. The house is owned by Steve Castleman Reality of St. Louis and Carbondale. - http://goo.gl/tQTGn

Marion County Police Beat for Monday, January 16th, 2012

A 38-year-old Odin man has been arrested for alleged possession of a controlled substance. Rickey Leak of West Chestnut was arrested by Marion County Sheriff's Deputies. 63-year-old Larry Logue of Hill Street in Alma was arrested by Kinmundy Police for alleged failure to register as a sex offender. This is the second time in a week Logue has been picked up on the charge. 23-year-old Nicholas Beck of St. Louis posted $150 bond and was released on a charge of driving on a revoked license. The Marion County Sheriff's Department is investigating a criminal damage to property complaint in Sandoval. Jason Carroll of West Missouri Avenue reported tires were slashed on his car.

Read full article at http://www.wjbdradio.com/?f=news_single&id=31116

Ashley Man Killed In Saturday Morning Washington County Wreck

A 22-year-old Ashley man was killed in a single vehicle crash in Washington County early Saturday morning. The Washington County Sheriff's Department say Holden Cameron died from trauma to the head. The car he was driving crashed on the Radom Road a mile south of Ashley. A passenger in the car, 21-year-old Kimberly Loos of Pinckneyville, was airlifted from the scene of the accident to St. Louis University Hospital. The sheriff's department reports the car left the roadway, struck a ditch and overturned at around two Saturday morning. Cameron was reportedly not wearinghis seatbelt. - http://goo.gl/Kvea5

Missouri hunters kill 239,000 deer

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri's Conservation Department says hunters took nearly 239,000 deer during the 2011-2012 firearms hunting season.

Conservation officials said the season's total was up about 7,400 from last year, but roughly 13,000 below the 10-year average.

Jason Sumners, a deer biologist with the Conservation Department, says this year's sharp departure from the 10-year average reflects a decline in deer populations in parts of central and northern Missouri.

At the same time, Sumners says deer numbers in southern Missouri continue to increase gradually. - http://goo.gl/lKxHs