Delong

After listening to more than two dozen witnesses over nearly three weeks, the jury in Jason Aaron DeLong's first-degree murder trial began deliberating yesterday.The panel of nine women and three men was sent to the jury room with two sharply different pictures of why Mr. DeLong stabbed his mother and her boyfriend last summer.Since the trial began Aug. 23, the Carroll Circuit Court jury has known that Mr. DeLong, 19, of Westminster admitted to the killings of Cathryn Brace Farrar and George William Wahl in that city.

At last year's Virgin Mobile FreeFest, Blink-182 frontman Tom DeLonge was cracking obscene jokes and copping a teenage attitude with his fans and bandmates. Now, DeLonge is on tour with Angels & Airwaves, a band that pairs atmospheric alt-rock songs with metaphysical symbolism. For DeLonge, it's a sobering about-face. Angels & Airwaves gave away its latest album, "Love," for free, and shot a feature film that could hit theaters later this year. On Monday, Angels & Airwaves will be at Rams Head Live.

Closing arguments in Jason Aaron DeLong's first-degree murder trial are to begin this morning.Defense attorneys and prosecutors are expected to summarize what they believe they proved during the 14 days of testimony.The arguments -- each side will be given two opportunities to address the Carroll Circuit Court jury hearing the case -- are expected to last into the afternoon, attorneys said yesterday.Since Aug. 23, the jury of nine women and three men has heard testimony from almost a dozen mental health specialists, friends and relatives of Mr. DeLong, detectives and Mr. DeLong himself.

WASHINGTON - Muhammad Ali, who used to fling physical and verbal jabs with dazzling speed, was honored yesterday for championing research into the disease that has slowed his gait and virtually silenced his voice. His hands trembling and his face managing nothing more than an impish smile, Ali received the public service award of the Society for Neuroscience. He and his wife, Lonnie Ali, have toured the country raising awareness of Parkinson's disease and rallying support for increased funding for research.

Jason Aaron DeLong testified yesterday that he is a confused, misunderstood young man who killed his abusive mother in an uncontrollable rage.But, in cross examination, the prosecutor in Mr. DeLong's first-degree murder trial attempted to show that the defendant was a chronic liar who invented tales of abuse by his mother to get attention.Mr. DeLong, 19, took the stand yesterday to tell of sexual and physical abuse he endured from his mother for most of his life. He also told jurors he feared his mother and that his deep anger might eventually cause him to kill someone.

Closing arguments in Jason Aaron DeLong's first-degree murder trial could come as early as today. Prosecutors concluded their rebuttal case yesterday.Mr. DeLong, 19, has been on trial in Carroll Circuit Court since Aug. 23. The Westminster man is charged with fatally stabbing his mother, Cathryn Brace Farrar, and her boyfriend, George William Wahl.Westminster police discovered the bodies Aug. 2, 1993, in Ms. Farrar's Bishop's Garth apartment. Ms. Farrar, 39, a nurse's aide, had been stabbed more than 80 times.

Jason Aaron DeLong suffers from three mental disorders and a neurological defect that would have made planning his mother's murder impossible, a psychiatrist for the defense said yesterday.Rather, the killing was a release of the lifelong rage Mr. DeLong felt toward Cathryn Brace Farrar because she neglected him and abused him physically and sexually, said Ellen McDaniel, a psychiatrist who practices in Towson."There was this outpouring of tremendous fear and rage beyond his control," Dr. McDaniel said.

Saying he wasn't convinced that Jason Aaron DeLong wouldn't kill again if released, a Carroll Circuit judge yesterday sentenced the 19-year-old Westminster man to life in prison for conspiring to kill his mother."

A Carroll County jury found Jason Aaron DeLong guilty yesterday of planning the death of his mother, but it said insanity rendered him not criminally responsible when he fatally stabbed her and her boyfriend in Westminster last summer."

The thought of killing his mother had been building inside Jason Aaron DeLong for years before he and his girlfriend of one week took knives to his mother's Westminster apartment and plunged them into his mother and her boyfriend, a prosecutor said yesterday.During opening statements before a nine-woman, three-man Carroll Circuit Court jury, Baltimore Assistant State's Attorney Timothy J. Doory called Mr. DeLong a "cunning" thief and criminal who decided, along with "the purple-haired girl of his dreams," to kill Cathryn Brace Farrar and George William Wahl so they could steal her car and money.

Richard DeLong, a longtime Carroll County educator and school administrator, died of a heart attack Thursday night after playing tennis. He was 55. Crisis and grief counselors spent yesterday talking to teachers, staff and pupils at North Carroll Middle School in Hampstead, where DeLong was principal. Counselors also went to nearby Shiloh Middle School and North Carroll High, where many students knew DeLong. "Having the students here has really helped," said Eileen Mayle, a former PTO president who has worked as a secretary at North Carroll Middle for nine years.

H-back Greg DeLong may not play in tonight's preseason game against the New York Jets, but his pride seems to be hurting more than his ankle. During a walkthrough as part of the kickoff return scout team Thursday, DeLong stepped on a teammate's foot and rolled his left ankle. He did some walking off to the side yesterday and did not practice. "If you're going to get hurt, you want it to sound kind of manly," DeLong said. "This here is not manly at all." If DeLong is sidelined, the Ravens will likely work out of more three-wide-out formations.

CINCINNATI -- Justin Armour and Qadry Ismail had been the mainstays in the Ravens' often-sputtering passing game before yesterday. The other guys picked a fine time to show up in yesterday's 34-31 victory over the Bengals. Wide receiver Patrick Johnson resurfaced after an extended absence to have the best game of his career. Wide receiver Billy Davis, whose football life had been reduced primarily to special teams work after joining the Ravens this year, produced the team's biggest play from scrimmage in his best performance of 1999.

In a perfect world, at least as far as the Ravens' incarnation of the West Coast offense is concerned, the tight end would play an integral role.But, as the quarterbacks and wide receivers have come up short so far in coach Brian Billick's offense, the production of the tight ends in the passing game has been just this side of nonexistent."

Who are those guys?Tight end Lovett Purnell spent two years toiling in the wide shadow of New England Pro Bowl player Ben Coates. Aaron Pierce, still trying to establish himself as an NFL force after six seasons, is back after walking away from the game for a year. A. J. Ofodile is hoping to make an impact -- finally -- in his third season. Then there's Greg DeLong, the underappreciated veteran who can do several jobs admirably but is no one's idea of a star waiting to happen.One could say the starting tight end position vacated two months ago by Eric Green, now of the New York Jets, is up for grabs.

Former New York Giants tight end Aaron Pierce agreed to a two-year contract worth $1.7 million with the Ravens yesterday, and will compete for the starting job with Greg DeLong, who was signed by the Ravens earlier this off-season.With the recent additions of Pierce, DeLong, fullback Charles Evans and offensive tackle Harry Swayne, the Ravens have filled most of their pressing needs, but still haven't been able to find a big wide receiver or work a trade for Detroit Lions quarterback Scott Mitchell.

Jason Aaron DeLong and his mother spent nearly every moment of their 33 days in the Carroll County women's shelter behind closed doors, a shelter employee told a Carroll jury yesterday.Cathryn Brace Farrar and her son, then 16, both behaved unusually during their stay at the shelter from late January to March 1, 1991, case manager Linda Tully testified. Mr. DeLong is on trial for first-degree murder in the stabbing deaths of Ms. Farrar and her boyfriend, George W. "Billy" Wahl, on July 29, 1993.

Armed with letters from the jury that said he was guilty of -- but not responsible for -- the deaths of his mother and her boyfriend two years ago, Jason Aaron DeLong today will ask a judge for a new trial.A Carroll Circuit Court jury found DeLong in September not criminally responsible for the deaths of Cathryn Brace Farrar and George William Wahl, but guilty and responsible for conspiracy in their murders.He was sentenced to life in prison, but before he could begin to serve that sentence he was committed to the Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center.

The Ravens are about to add two backup tight ends to the 1999 roster, agreeing in principle on three-year contracts with Greg DeLong and Frank Wainwright.The team also hopes to sign veteran offensive lineman Raleigh McKenzie in the next few days, although McKenzie's agent said his client probably would not be continuing his 14-year career in Baltimore. McKenzie visited Miami the day before he met with the Ravens last week.The Ravens are looking to fill multiple holes created by the free-agent losses of guard/center Wally Williams, right tackle Orlando Brown and tight end Eric Green.

Rather than a pathetic victim of relentless sexual abuse by a schizophrenic mother, Jason Aaron DeLong is a cunning, manipulative liar who killed only because it was a way for him to be free, prosecutors said yesterday.DeLong, who has admitted to stabbing his mother, Cathryn Brace Farrar, and her boyfriend, George William Wahl, in July 1993, was in Carroll Circuit Court yesterday where he unsuccessfully sought a new trial. He also is asking for a reduction of the life sentence he will have to serve once he is treated at the Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center.