Bacchus

"TYING ONE ON" will take on a new meaning at Carroll Community College this week as students, faculty and staff members commemorate National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week with a variety of activities. The week, sponsored by BACCHUS groups at schools across the country, is meant to help college students think before they drink or use drugs. BACCHUS - an acronym for Boosting Alcohol Consciousness Concerning the Health of University Students - enlists students to help educate their peers about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse.

An Anne Arundel County man who videotaped himself and his ex-wife in a sex act without her consent was spared jail time yesterday. William A. Hendry IV, 38, of Edgewater pleaded guilty to one count of illegal wiretapping before Anne Arundel County Circuit Judge William C. Mulford II, who sentenced him to a six-month suspended sentence, with one year of supervised probation. Hendry pleaded not guilty in January to two counts of illegal wiretapping and was scheduled to go to trial next week.

Last spring, Melissa Burch Harton told Howard County police, she went out for a night of drinking with her friend -- a fellow clinical psychology doctoral student -- that ended in an argument. Then she strangled her friend, according to the Columbia woman's confession to police. Tomorrow, Harton, 26, of the 5600 block of Columbia Road is scheduled to go on trial in Howard County Circuit Court, charged with first-degree murder in the death of Natasha Bacchus. On March 9, Bacchus' body was discovered on the parking lot of the Dorsey Hall pool by a neighbor walking through the area about 7 a.m. Harton was originally charged with second-degree murder.

An Anne Arundel County man pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges that he videotaped himself and his ex-wife in a sex act without her knowledge. William A. Hendry IV, 38, of Edgewater has been charged with two counts of illegal wiretapping; he is accused of producing a videotape and recording cell phone conversations without his ex-wife's consent between September 2005 and late 2007 at his former home in Pasadena, according to court documents. After making the tapes, Hendry contacted his ex-wife's husband to say he had proof that the woman was cheating on him, according to court records.

Opening statements are scheduled to begin this morning in the Howard County Circuit Court trial of a Columbia woman accused of strangling her friend, a fellow clinical psychology doctoral student. Melissa Burch Harton, 26, of the 5600 block of Columbia Road, is charged with first-degree murder in Natasha Bacchus' death. On Monday, lawyers began selecting a jury to hear the case against Harton, who police say confessed in a six-hour police interview to strangling Bacchus, 31, of Stewartstown, Pa., after a night of drinking and an argument.

A Columbia woman charged in the strangulation death of a Pennsylvania woman could have been defending herself, a defense attorney said yesterday during a bond hearing in Howard District Court. Melissa Burch Harton, 25, has abrasions on her neck and bruises on her legs and arms, and the case involves "possible self-defense," said Assistant Public Defender Janette DeBoissiere. Harton, of the 5600 block of Columbia Road, has been charged with second-degree murder, first-degree assault and second-degree assault in the death of Natasha A. Bacchus, 31, of Stewartstown.

An Anne Arundel County man who videotaped himself and his ex-wife in a sex act without her consent was spared jail time yesterday. William A. Hendry IV, 38, of Edgewater pleaded guilty to one count of illegal wiretapping before Anne Arundel County Circuit Judge William C. Mulford II, who sentenced him to a six-month suspended sentence, with one year of supervised probation. Hendry pleaded not guilty in January to two counts of illegal wiretapping and was scheduled to go to trial next week.

An Anne Arundel County man pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges that he videotaped himself and his ex-wife in a sex act without her knowledge. William A. Hendry IV, 38, of Edgewater has been charged with two counts of illegal wiretapping; he is accused of producing a videotape and recording cell phone conversations without his ex-wife's consent between September 2005 and late 2007 at his former home in Pasadena, according to court documents. After making the tapes, Hendry contacted his ex-wife's husband to say he had proof that the woman was cheating on him, according to court records.

A Howard County Circuit Court judge is weighing whether a jury will be able to view a videotape of a six-hour police interview in which a Columbia woman confessed to strangling her friend and fellow Loyola College doctoral student in March. In the taped interview at Howard County police headquarters, Melissa Burch Harton, 25, told police that she choked Natasha Bacchus after a night of drinking at a TGI Friday's near Arundel Mills and an argument in her car. Harton's lawyers attempted yesterday to persuade Judge Lenore R. Gelfman that the confession should be suppressed during Harton's first-degree murder trial that begins Jan. 30. They argued she should have been advised of her Miranda rights before the interview began, instead of almost three hours into it. Defense attorney Michael E. Kaminkow said police advised Harton of her rights only after she told them about a struggle with Bacchus, and that Harton was then in police custody and unable to leave.

A Columbia woman accused of strangling a friend and fellow Loyola College doctoral student has been indicted by a grand jury on a first-degree murder charge - a more serious offense than police had initially indicated. Melissa Burch Harton, 25, of the 5600 block of Columbia Road, was originally charged with second-degree murder. The first-degree murder indictment by the grand jury Wednesday shows that the jury felt there was evidence that the crime was premeditated. The state is now seeking to revoke or increase the bond of Harton, who was released on $100,000 bond last month.

Lindsay Lohan says she's been going to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings for a year, but hasn't talked about it because "it's no one's business." "I just left an AA meeting," People magazine quotes the 20-year-old actress on its Web site yesterday. "I haven't had a drink in seven days. Or anything," she says. "I'm not even legal to, so why would I? Her publicist, Leslie Sloane Zelnik, respond yesterday to a message from the Associated Press seeking comment. The king of New Orleans Sopranos' star James Gandolfini will reign as celebrity monarch Bacchus during the 2007 Carnival season.

Opening statements are scheduled to begin this morning in the Howard County Circuit Court trial of a Columbia woman accused of strangling her friend, a fellow clinical psychology doctoral student. Melissa Burch Harton, 26, of the 5600 block of Columbia Road, is charged with first-degree murder in Natasha Bacchus' death. On Monday, lawyers began selecting a jury to hear the case against Harton, who police say confessed in a six-hour police interview to strangling Bacchus, 31, of Stewartstown, Pa., after a night of drinking and an argument.

Last spring, Melissa Burch Harton told Howard County police, she went out for a night of drinking with her friend -- a fellow clinical psychology doctoral student -- that ended in an argument. Then she strangled her friend, according to the Columbia woman's confession to police. Tomorrow, Harton, 26, of the 5600 block of Columbia Road is scheduled to go on trial in Howard County Circuit Court, charged with first-degree murder in the death of Natasha Bacchus. On March 9, Bacchus' body was discovered on the parking lot of the Dorsey Hall pool by a neighbor walking through the area about 7 a.m. Harton was originally charged with second-degree murder.

During a videotaped, six-hour interview with police detectives, a Columbia woman confessed to strangling her friend and fellow Loyola College doctoral student in March after a night of drinking and an argument in her car. Melissa Burch Harton, 25, told police that after she and Natasha Bacchus argued about how Harton's parents didn't like Bacchus, they started hitting each other and then Harton choked her friend for "one time, for a length of time."...

A Howard County Circuit Court judge is weighing whether a jury will be able to view a videotape of a six-hour police interview in which a Columbia woman confessed to strangling her friend and fellow Loyola College doctoral student in March. In the taped interview at Howard County police headquarters, Melissa Burch Harton, 25, told police that she choked Natasha Bacchus after a night of drinking at a TGI Friday's near Arundel Mills and an argument in her car. Harton's lawyers attempted yesterday to persuade Judge Lenore R. Gelfman that the confession should be suppressed during Harton's first-degree murder trial that begins Jan. 30. They argued she should have been advised of her Miranda rights before the interview began, instead of almost three hours into it. Defense attorney Michael E. Kaminkow said police advised Harton of her rights only after she told them about a struggle with Bacchus, and that Harton was then in police custody and unable to leave.

A Columbia woman accused of strangling a friend and fellow Loyola College doctoral student has been indicted by a grand jury on a first-degree murder charge - a more serious offense than police had initially indicated. Melissa Burch Harton, 25, of the 5600 block of Columbia Road, was originally charged with second-degree murder. The first-degree murder indictment by the grand jury Wednesday shows that the jury felt there was evidence that the crime was premeditated. The state is now seeking to revoke or increase the bond of Harton, who was released on $100,000 bond last month.

During a videotaped, six-hour interview with police detectives, a Columbia woman confessed to strangling her friend and fellow Loyola College doctoral student in March after a night of drinking and an argument in her car. Melissa Burch Harton, 25, told police that after she and Natasha Bacchus argued about how Harton's parents didn't like Bacchus, they started hitting each other and then Harton choked her friend for "one time, for a length of time."...

The 25-year-old Columbia woman charged with strangling a friend and fellow Loyola College doctoral student last week does not fit the typical profile of a killer - and the method used required a level of emotional intensity rarely reached among friends, a violence expert said this week. The doctoral students in clinical psychology had been drinking heavily when they got into a fight early last Wednesday morning outside Centennial Park, Assistant Public Defender Janette DeBoissiere said during a bond hearing last week.

The 25-year-old Columbia woman charged with strangling a friend and fellow Loyola College doctoral student last week does not fit the typical profile of a killer - and the method used required a level of emotional intensity rarely reached among friends, a violence expert said this week. The doctoral students in clinical psychology had been drinking heavily when they got into a fight early last Wednesday morning outside Centennial Park, Assistant Public Defender Janette DeBoissiere said during a bond hearing last week.

A Columbia woman charged in the strangulation death of a Pennsylvania woman could have been defending herself, a defense attorney said yesterday during a bond hearing in Howard District Court. Melissa Burch Harton, 25, has abrasions on her neck and bruises on her legs and arms, and the case involves "possible self-defense," said Assistant Public Defender Janette DeBoissiere. Harton, of the 5600 block of Columbia Road, has been charged with second-degree murder, first-degree assault and second-degree assault in the death of Natasha A. Bacchus, 31, of Stewartstown.