Elderly woman faces manslaughter charge in husband’s death
On July 6, Phyllis Eson, 83, was arrested on the charges of beating her 89-year-old husband, Norman Eson, to death in their Town of Tonawanda home. State Supreme Court Justice Russell P. Buscaglia has reduced the charges to first-degree manslaughter, according to The Buffalo News.
This indictment states that Phyllis, with intent to inflict physical injury on Norman, caused the death of her husband.
If proven guilty, Phyllis will face up to 25 years in prison.
At the time of the crime, the Esons’ landlord called the police to check on the elderly couple. When Phyllis answered the door, she had blood on her clothes and her husband was found to have been dead for several hours.
An autopsy revealed that he had died from trauma due to blunt-force blows to the head.
Eson’s attorney, Daniel Grasso, is considering using a psychiatric defense in court. Grasso will return to court on Oct. 15 to announce whether or not he will pursue this defense.
Respiratory Virus Strikes Unusual Number of Children in Midwest
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed that a viral respiratory illness, human enterovirus 68 (HEV68), has sickened dozens of students in Midwestern states, like Illinois and Missouri, according to The New York Times.
HEV68 typically affects many children and teenagers every year during the summer and fall. This year, however, hospitals are receiving high numbers of suspected cases and children who require critical care.
Symptoms of HEV68 include fever, coughing and other indications that mimic a severe cold.
Hospital cases of infected children surfaced in late August and since then, over a dozen states have reported patients with the disease.
Since the outbreak, Children’s Hospital Colorado, located in Denver, has treated around 1,400 people, from infants to 21-year olds, with severe respiratory symptoms.
Seventy-five percent of 25 samples sent to CDC tested positive for HEV68.
One pediatric hospital in Kansas City treated more than 300 children and about 15 percent of them were placed in intensive care in just August alone.
As of Monday Sept. 8, Erie County’s Health Commissioner believes the rare strain of enterovirus has arrived in the Buffalo area, according to WGRZ. There have been no positive results yet, but several families have contacted the news station believing their children are infected. Children’s Hospital is beginning testing to see how many children locally have the virus.
There is currently no antiviral treatment or vaccine for the virus.
Baby born with extra limbs is progressing well post-surgery
In May, newborn Paul Musika was born with an extra set of limbs. The Ugandan baby has since had surgery to remove his additional arms and legs.
Musika was diagnosed with “parasitic twinning,” a condition where twins are conjoined in the womb but only one twin develops. In Musika’s case, he was born with a set of limbs from a mirror image twin who developed without a head or a heart but joined at the pelvic bone. His organs also had abnormalities; his heart and liver were on the opposite sides of his body.
On Aug. 18, a team of eight doctors and nurses operated for three hours on Musika, removing his limbs and correcting his organs.
Musika is still recovering, but doctors believe he will be a healthy baby.
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