Reality TV Preacher Charged With Murder

LOS ANGELES - A self-proclaimed preacher who was on the reality TV show ?America?s Sexiest Bachelor? will be arraigned for allegedly torturing and murdering an ex-porn actress in suburban Los Angeles. Brian Lee Randone was charged last week with beating and suffocating Felicia Lee at their Monrovia home. He faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted. Randone appeared on ?America?s Sexiest Bachelor? nine years ago---More

Crazy News-Cash-for-corpse murders probed in China

Crazy News-Cash-for-corpse murders probed in China

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Chinese police have arrested members of a gang suspected of murdering more than 100 disabled or elderly people and selling their corpses in a bizarre scheme to avoid cremations, a newspaper said on Tuesday.

Burials have traditionally been seen as the most respectful way to handle the dead in China, but were discouraged after the Communists came to power in 1949 to conserve farmland and eradicate superstition.

The bodies were bought by wealthy families and sent for cremation in lieu of deceased relatives who were then secretly buried, the South China Morning Post reported.

The killers would trail their victims, usually mentally disabled or elderly people, "drag them into vehicles in remote areas and either strangle or poison them", the newspaper said.

An unnamed police officer from Puning, in southern Guangdong province, said about seven suspects were arrested three weeks ago when police discovered the gang while investigating a homicide, the Post said.

Corpses would sell for 10,000 yuan (818 pounds) each, it said, without specifying the charges against those being held.

(Reporting by John Ruwitch; Editing by Nick Macfie)