Funeral Home's Discovery Leads To Murder Charges: Weird News & Oddities

An Oak Park, Illinois, man found dead inside his home in January had been shot multiple times, yet the cause of his violent death wasn’t discovered until a day later by a funeral home employee, according to court documents.

Michael Arnold, 68, who had undisclosed health issues, was found face-down in the living room by his sister on Jan. 23. Arnold was pronounced dead “following a short inspection,” according to the court records. “Because the body remained face down and was not moved by responding personnel, gunshot wounds were not discovered at that time,” the document reads.

A funeral home employee preparing Arnold’s body the following day reported finding gunshot wounds, and a police inspection revealed he had been shot multiple times in the chest and arms.

Authorities connected Arnold and the man now charged in his death, Steven Knox, 19, of Dolton, through text messages found in Arnold’s phone by his family, who also reported his van was missing from the garage. Police found it at an impound lot in a town about 30 miles away, where it had been involved in a hit-and-run accident.

• Read more: A Funeral Home Employee’s Discovery Leads To Murder Charges

Teens Help Catch Predator, But …

With a sting inspired by the television reality series “To Catch a Predator,” some Connecticut teens helped expose a man state police say used a dating app to meet an underage boy for sex.

Back in 2024, a student at Harvard H. Ellis Technical High School in Danielson was asked to share one good thing he’d done for the world lately, according to an arrest warrant recently made public.

The teen said he and some buddies created a fake account on the dating app Grindr because they “thought it would be funny,” but soon realized what the man they were chatting with was after. They played along, luring him to a public place, where they confronted him, asking if “he thinks it’s okay to meet a 15-year-old” and “if he knew it was illegal,” according to the affidavit.

The man fled the meeting place but later turned himself in, telling state police he feared “predator catchers” in an upstairs apartment would assault him, according to the affidavit. He faces charges of attempted second-degree sexual assault.

Don’t try this at home, kids, warned Scott Driscoll, a retired police officer who founded a business that helps families stay safe online. He said the teens put themselves in a situation where a lot of things could have gone wrong.

“I’m glad no one was hurt,” Driscoll said. “To show up and meet someone is a dangerous situation. Let the police do their jobs.”

• Read more: Teens Help ‘Catch A Predator,’ But Perhaps Shouldn’t Have

For The Love Of Rats

Who are we to judge the animals people keep, even if others trap them, curse them, and scream when they see them? It’s their business if they love their rats and want to keep them.

Except when they can’t, and then it becomes the business of animal shelters and welfare groups, as it did recently when 163 rats were surrendered to the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The welfare group, which usually places about 270 rats a year in homes, is working with shelters throughout New England to place the rats.

“A well-meaning person got into a tough spot, and we were able to help,” the MSPCA’s Mike Keiley said. “As a humane law enforcement department, we want to work with people who love their animals to make sure those animals are getting the care they need.”

• Read more: 163 Rats Surrendered; Adopters Needed

Call A Boomer

An old-school public telephone like the ones older Americans grew up with popped up near the Boston University campus as part of a social experiment to connect students with their elders.

“Call a boomer,” a sign on an old-school-style pay phone outside Pavement Coffeehouse in Brookline. On the other end of the line are residents of Sierra Manor, an apartment complex for people 62 and older in Reno, Nevada.

Unlike the pay phones Baby Boomers grew up with, their modern-day counterparts are free to use on either end.

Phones have been placed in multiple locations across the country in a large-scale social experiment by the Colorado-based biotechnology firm Matter Neuroscience, which is gathering evidence on the theory that boomers and zoomers, the moniker given to Generation Z, are the most likely to be negatively affected by loneliness.

• Read more: How Old-School Phones Are Connecting Boomers and Zoomers

$600K Onion And Potato Theft Scheme

A 39-year-old Spring Hill, Florida, man charged in a scheme to steal $600,000 worth of potatoes and onions from wholesale companies could spend a decade in federal prison, the Justice Department said.

Federal prosecutors said Jason Canals ran multiple schemes to defraud wholesale produce companies. In one, Canals fraudulently used a company’s name and email signature block to order produce, then diverted the shipment to a new location and never paid the wholesalers, officials said.

Canals is charged with eight counts of interstate transport of stolen property.

• Read more: Charges Filed In Theft Of $600K In Potatoes And Onions

Famous Hotel Had Wastewater In Kitchen



The shining Trump International Hotel in Chicago got a tarnished report from city health inspectors who found pooling wastewater in the kitchen, among multiple other food safety violations, according to reports.

When inspectors visited last December, they reportedly found that wastewater pooled on the main kitchen floor as sinks drained, a dishwasher that failed to sanitize dishes, debris in prep coolers, and flies in a rooftop bar and dish area. There was no soap in an employee bathroom, and multiple food handlers weren’t wearing gloves, according to the reports

The hotel kitchen met health standards when inspectors returned six days later.

• Read more: Pooling Wastewater Found In Trump Hotel’s Main Kitchen In Health Inspection

Did You See The Fireball?

People lucky enough to look at the sky at just the right time around midnight on Wednesday saw a flashing fireball soar across the sky.

The International Meteor Organization has taken more than 100 reports from stargazers from a wide region that includes about a dozen Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states, including Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Virginia.

Most observers said the bright meteor’s glowing train lasted anywhere from 1.5 to 3.5 seconds, but one person in Wall Township, New Jersey, reported seeing the meteor shine for 7.5 seconds.

• Watch the video: Exceedingly Bright Fireball Soars Across Multiple States

Look Up While You Can

Ethereal experiences like this are threatened by the increasing number of satellites in space, which would increase exponentially under a pair of proposals before the Federal Communications Commission that would essentially turn nighttime into day.

The biggest of the two fast-tracked proposals is by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which wants to launch 1 million satellites into space to harness the sun’s energy to power data farms in space

Start-up Reflect Orbital wants to create “sunlight on demand” with thousands of large, mirrored satellites to redirect sunlight back to Earth after dark to extend daylight for solar farms. Light could also be sold to cities to illuminate streetlights, providing three times more light than a full moon and rivaling daylight.

There are currently about 14,500 active satellites in low Earth orbit. The SpaceX request, if approved, would increase that figure by nearly 70 times, according to DarkSky International, a nonprofit that works globally to reduce light pollution and protect night skies.

“Once deployment begins at that scale, potentially involving thousands of launches each year, the effects on the night sky, orbital congestion, and the broader environment would be extraordinarily difficult to reverse,” DarkSky said on its website. “Proposals of this magnitude warrant rigorous scrutiny, transparency, and meaningful public input before any approval is considered.”

Of the Reflect Orbital project, DarkSky said, “Such illumination would introduce an entirely new source of artificial light at night, with far-reaching consequences, including disruption to wildlife and ecosystems that depend on natural cycles of light and dark, as well as serious public safety concerns.”

• Read more: Night Could Become Day Under Plans To Put More Data Farms In Space

How This Dog ‘Lyfted’ Civil Rights

“He is my eyes. He is my freedom, and he is why I am able to live independently,” college student Tori Andres said Wednesday of her service dog Alfred, who sparked a major civil rights victory for blind and disabled ride share passengers nationwide.

Andres’ remarks came at a news conference to announce a negotiated settlement between Lyft and the Minnesota Human Rights Commission, the agency Andres turned to after several Lyft drivers refused to let the black Labrador retriever ride along with her.

The agency found the company violated the state’s Human Rights Act. The resulting settlement mandates nationwide changes to driver training and the Lyft app, not just in Minnesota.

“Access to ride shares like Lyft is not a convenience. It is, in fact, a civil right,” Minnesota Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero told reporters.

Lyft downplayed the significance of the settlement, saying the relief sought by the agency because a strict service animal service policy in place for nearly a decade ensures “riders who rely on service animals are treated with the respect they deserve,” the company said in a statement, adding that any alleged violations were by independent drivers.

Lucero said that even though Lyft’s leading competitor, Uber, the nation’s largest ride-hailing company, wasn’t a party in the action, all such companies operating in the state are bound by the Minnesota Human Rights Act.

“We recommend that all businesses use this as an opportunity to look at their policies, training and accountability systems to make sure that it’s being enforced correctly,” Lucero said.

• Read more: How A Service Dog Named Alfred Gave Disabled Ride Share Passengers A Big ‘Lyft’