xxxNews Of The Weirdxxx

Bizarre but true stories about real people collected by syndicated columnist Chuck Shepherd.

Homelier-looking kids get taken care of by their parents less attentively than do the good-looking ones (e.g., they don't get buckled into carts as frequently in supermarkets, and are allowed to drift further away in the store) (reported Dr. Andrew Harrell, University of Alberta, April).

Gay men resemble women in their approach to reading road maps (determining directions by, for example, use of landmarks, rather than the typical heterosexual male approach of spatial reasoning) (reported by psychobiologist Oazi Rahman, University of East London, February).

The Classic Middle Name (all-new):
Arrested for murder recently: Darrell Wayne Maness, 19, Wilmington, N.C. (January);
Timothy Wayne Ebert, 40, Cleveland, Texas (February);
John Wayne Blair, 49, Sevier County, Tenn. (April);
Derek Wayne Jackson, 18, Norristown, Pa. (April);
Nathaniel Wayne Hart, 34, Austin, Texas (April).
Convicted of murder
Donald Wayne Shipe, 37, Winchester, Va. (May). Sentenced for murder: Emmanuel Wayne Harris, 28, Bisbee, Ariz. (February).
Executed for murder: Dennis Wayne Bagwell, 41, Huntsville, Texas (February);
Lonnie Wayne Pursley, 43, Huntsville, Texas (May).
Committed suicide while suspected of murder: Eric Wayne Jacobs, 27, Castroville, Calif. (April).

A Classic Middle Name Special:
In April, in New Scotland, N.Y., Jean Balashek, 86, was found murdered, and police charged her daughter, Corianna Thompson, with the crime. Thompson's birth name was Corey Wayne Balashek, and before his sex change, he had served nine years for another killing. Thus, Thompson/Balashek may be the first American ever charged with homicide in both genders.
(Send your Weird News to Chuck Shepherd, P.O. Box 18737, Tampa FL 33679 or WeirdNews@earthlink.net or go to www.NewsoftheWeird.com.) NEWS OF THE WEIRD