Northampton County DA Terry Houck says a September 14th car crash in Upper Saucon Township was the first sign a crime elsewhere had been committed. "Officers at the scene determined the car belonged to Rosalyn Glass of Railroad Street. Near to where John Bradley was sitting, a Smith and Wesson fixed blade, double-edged knife with a red-brown stain and a white, long sleeve t-shirt with a red-brown stain were located," the district attorney said. Houck says police then went to the Glass home on Railroad Street in North Catasauqua. There was no answer at the door. About four hours later, police were called back by a Glass family friend who found the bodies of 39-year-old Rosalyn Glass and her 16-year-old daughter, Rianna. Both had been stabbed and slashed to death. Houck says their DNA and the DNA of 17-year-old John Bradley were found on that bloody knife found at the crash scene. Bradley was the driver of the car that had crashed and had a 14-year-old girl with him. Houck says Bradley and Rianna Glass had broken off their relationship in August and hours before she was killed, she told Bradley she was seeing someone else. Houck says Bradley is being charged as an adult with the killings. He says they have not been able to talk with the 14-year-old because of the severity of her injuries.
Neighbors are getting credit for saving the life of a woman, whose husband died in a Monday night fire in Salisbury Township. Investigators say the fire at a home on Essex Road killed 59-year-old Richard Omick. Neighbors heard his wife screaming for help and brought a ladder to the home so she was able to escape. The investigation is continuing.
The Easton-Phillipsburg Free Bridge will be down to single lanes from 7am to 4pm today and tomorrow. The lane closures will allow workers to complete electrical work. Some traffic delays are expected.
People in the Poconos won't be able to pick apples from a popular orchard this season. The owner of Heckman Orchards located near Effort announced freezing temperatures in May has damaged their apples and they will not be offering their pick-your-own apples event this season.
Gov. Josh Shapiro used National Voter Registration Day Tuesday to enact a new way to register to vote. "I am proud to announce that for the first time ever, Pennsylvania is an automatic voter registration state," the governor said. That means, effective immediately, when you get or renew your driver’s license or an ID card at the DMV, you’ll be registered to vote unless you choose not to. Shapiro says residents already provide proof of identity, residency, age, and citizenship at the DMV, all of which is required to register to vote, so it makes sense to streamline that process with voter registration.
Five former state governors have released a joint letter expressing support for letting independents to vote in primary elections. The letter signed by former Governors Tom Wolf, Tom Corbett, Ed Rendell, Mark Schweiker and Tom Ridge says Pennsylvania is one of only seven states to completely exclude independent voters from voting in primary elections. The group writes that adding those voters to the primary mix will help candidates engage in compromise that's essential to effective governing. Legislation on the issue has been introduced in both chambers of the General Assembly but none of those bills have been put up for a committee vote yet.
Democrats will keep their one-vote majority in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. That's after a special election Tuesday in which Pittsburgh voters elected Democrat Lindsay Powell. The former congressional aide defeated Republican Erin Connolly Autenreith in the heavily Democratic district. A spokesperson for Allegheny County says Powell's victory may not be certified until early October, but she's still expected to join other lawmakers next week. That's when the House is slated to reconvene with the priority of resuming work on the state's long-overdue budget.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board says gaming revenue in the commonwealth for the month of August came in at more than $457.1 million. That's a nearly seven-and-a-half percent increase compared to August 2022 numbers. Gaming revenue includes slot machines, table games, internet gambling, sports wagering, fantasy contests and video gaming terminals. Wind Creek Bethlehem pulled in more than $47.1 million last month, a 10-percent increase from last August.
The Temple University community is mourning the sudden loss of acting president JoAnne Epps. She fell ill at a memorial service yesterday afternoon and later died at the hospital. Epps has been with Temple for more than 30-years as a teacher but most recently moved into a leadership role. There will be a vigil on campus today at Noon and school leaders are expected to discuss who will replace her as acting president. Epps was 72.
A West Virginia man who authorities say threatened witnesses and jurors in the recent Robert Bowers trial in Pittsburgh has pleaded guilty to federal charges. Hardy Lloyd of Brooke County made his threats online and prosecutors say they learned of them during the trial. Lloyd says he was motivated to issue his threats by the Jewish or perceived-Jewish religion of Bowers' victims and the trial witnesses. He faces the possibility of more than six years in prison. Bowers has been sentenced to death after being convicted on charges in connection with the 2018 shooting deaths of 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue.