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June 6, 1996
Web posted at: 9:45 p.m. EDT

Tests may never reveal how ValuJet passengers died

MIAMI (CNN) -- It may never be known if the 110 passengers on board ValuJet Flight 592 were killed by toxic smoke or if their deaths came when the plane slammed into the Florida Everglades.

A source close to the investigation told CNN Thursday that forensic experts would need throat or lung tissue to determine if smoke inhalation or poisoning killed the passengers and crew before the impact.

But the source said investigators have not found enough bodily evidence to come to conclusions on the cause of death.

Blood tests have also been impossible because the body parts recovered have not contained blood, the source said.

Justice Department sues lawmen over prisoner abuse

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Justice Department Thursday filed suit to stop a sheriff and a warden in Louisiana from allegedly abusing inmates in their parish jail.

Federal authorities say Iberia Parish Sheriff Errol Romero and the warden of the Iberia Parish Jail, Danny David, regularly allow excessive force to be used against inmates at the 250-bed facility.

Justice Department officials cited examples of deputies regularly binding inmates' mouths shut with duct tape, placing football helmets backward over prisoners' heads and forcing detainees to sit on their own excrement for days at a time.

Justice Department officials asked a federal court in Lafayette, Louisiana, to approve an order to prevent further abuses at the jail.

Consumer group warns of hidden playground hazards

playground safety

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- One of the nation's foremost consumer safety groups claimed Thursday that a majority of public playgrounds still pose hidden threats to children.

The Consumer Federation of America, in a report released Thursday, charged that 85 percent of playgrounds lacked adequate protective surfaces, and that 65 percent of climbing equipment was too high.

Each year 150,000 children require a trips to hospital emergency rooms for playground injuries, and nearly 15 children die from the injuries each year, said Mary Ellen Fise, product safety director for the CFA.

The consumer group surveyed more than 550 playgrounds for its research.

O.J.'s older daughter testifies in civil lawsuit

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Arnelle Simpson, O.J. Simpson's older daughter, was questioned under oath Wednesday in the wrongful-death civil lawsuit filed by families of murder victims Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.

Arnelle Simpson ushered detectives into Simpson's Brentwood home just hours after the June 12, 1994, slayings. Most of her deposition focused on that night, attorneys said.

Simpson's daughter said she was unaware of any physical abuse of Nicole Simpson by her father, according to the Goldmans' attorney, Dan Petrocelli. The civil suit is scheduled to go to trial in September.

Also Wednesday, CNN obtained copies of court documents filed by the Goldman family asking that O.J. Simpson be forced to answer specific questions not covered when he gave his deposition. amelia The Goldmans also request that Simpson produce certain clothing, including what he wore the day of the murders.

Dr. Jennifer Ameli, a therapist, also gave a deposition. She said she phoned Nicole Simpson on the night of the killings, and O.J. Simpson's ex-wife told her she felt relieved but frightened because she had brushed O.J. Simpson off that day. "He's not going to let me get away with it," Ameli quoted Nicole Simpson as saying.

South Carolina governor tours burned churches

DIXIANA, South Carolina (CNN) -- After visiting black houses of worship destroyed by arson, South Carolina Gov. David Beasley condemned the destruction and vowed to fight racism.

"There are racial problems in every state and in every community," Beasley said Wednesday.

Beasley pledged to donate a $2,000 reward after touring the remains of churches in Barnwell, Lexington and Florence al church counties and a mosque in Greenville. Twenty-six fires have struck black churches in the South since early 1995.

In Greensboro, Alabama, where the Rising Star Baptist Church was destroyed by fire on Monday, authorities still were trying to figure out whether it was arson. Investigators brought in dogs to search the rubble.

It may take days to determine the cause of the fire, because of the extensive destruction, authorities said. The FBI and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are aiding the investigation.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Police do sketch of possible Central Park attacker

NEW YORK CITY (CNN) -- Police were preparing a sketch of a man seen in a heated argument with a woman about the time she was beaten in Central Park and left unconscious.

The unidentified woman, who appears to be in her 20s, remained in critical condition Thursday. Some people also reported hearing screaming before seeing a man flee. The city of New York is offering an $11,000 reward in the case.

The suspect and victim may have known each other, said one investigator. But police officials cautioned that the information collected so far was vague, and they appealed to the public for more help.

A woman walking a dog found the victim bleeding and unconscious Tuesday afternoon near a playground and across the street from upscale apartments on Manhattan's Upper West Side.

The victim had severe head injuries, apparently inflicted by a blunt object. Investigators found evidence of a sexual attack, but said the woman was not raped.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

U.S. commander of Bosnia peacekeepers to leave post

Washington (CNN) -- The U.S. commander of the Bosnia peacekeeping operation, Adm. Leighton Smith, will leave that job by the end of the summer, Pentagon officials confirmed Thursday.

smith

Smith is expected to be replaced by Vice Adm. Joseph Lopez. It was not clear when an official announcement would be made.

Sources said the timing of Smith's departure may have been prompted by the shuffle in Navy command caused by last month's suicide of Adm. Mike Boorda, the Navy's chief of operations. Smith may move to a more senior Navy command position in Washington. However, sources also said Smith has talked in the past of "retiring."

Smith heads the international forces deployed after last fall's Dayton peace accord was negotiated to bring peace to Bosnia. The deployment was to last one year.

From Correspondent Ralph Begleiter


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