National Desk
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

WEST
STEPFATHER OF JACKSON’S ACCUSER SAYS HE ASKED FOR PAYMENT
SANTA MARIA, Calif. – The stepfather of the boy who accused Michael Jackson of molestation testified yesterday that he asked for payment for the family’s participation in a video interview intended to restore Mr. Jackson’s reputation.
“I said, ‘This family has nothing and you’re making millions from this and what are you going to do for this little family,'” the witness said of a conversation he had with someone he identified only as the “gentleman from Neverland,” a reference to Jackson’s ranch.
The stepfather, under questioning by the defense, said the person offered to give them “a college education and buy them a house.” The stepfather was referred to as “Mr. Doe” to protect his identity and that of his stepson.
The so-called “rebuttal video” was meant to answer negative publicity surrounding a British TV documentary on Mr. Jackson that included the alleged victim and showed Mr. Jackson defending his practice of having young boys sleep in his bed. He said the contacts were non-sexual and “very sweet.”
In the rebuttal video, the 12-year-old boy and his family reportedly vouch for Mr. Jackson’s good character. Prosecutors say the family was coerced into making the video, which has not been released. Yesterday’s questioning appeared to bolster defense contentions that the accuser’s family tried to “shake down” Mr. Jackson for money.
-Associated Press
CRASHES KILL ONE, INJURE 15 CHEYENNE, Wyo. – One person died and 15 others were hurt, three critically, in a fiery chain reaction of crashes yesterday on a foggy, wet, busy interstate, officials said. Thirty-three vehicles were involved. “It appears that motorists driving too fast on wet roadways and in heavy fog caused this series of crashes,” said Sergeant Steve Townsend of the Wyoming Highway Patrol. The first wrecks occurred about three miles west of Buford in southeast Wyoming, where seven tractor-trailer rigs and a passenger car became engulfed in flames. Up to five other series of rear-end crashes occurred as drivers stopped or swerved to avoid the first accidents.
The collisions occurred in a stretch through the Laramie Mountains notorious for treacherous conditions, though not usually in summer.
– Associated Press
MIDWEST
NICHOLS DECLINES TO APPEAL STATE CONVICTIONS PONCA CITY, Okla. – Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols will not appeal his state murder convictions for his role in the 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building, his attorney said yesterday.
In a brief statement, attorney Brian Hermanson said Mr. Nichols did not want to prolong the pain for victims’ families. “As he said in his sentencing, Terry sincerely hopes that the final conclusion of this case will be the beginning of a long-awaited healing process for all those impacted by the bombing.”
Mr. Nichols’s attorneys had been advising him against appealing his 161 state murder convictions, because an appeal could mean a new trial and another opportunity for prosecutors to seek the death penalty.
Mr. Nichols is already serving life in prison without parole on federal charges for the April 19, 1995, bombing, which killed 168 people. Mr. Nichols was spared the death penalty for a second time when his state jury deadlocked on a sentence.
– Associated Press
SOUTH
WOMAN CHARGED IN DISABLED DAUGHTER’S DEATH WINCHESTER, Tenn. – After 15 years of tending to her disabled daughter, a woman is charged with injecting a lethal dose of drugs into the girl’s feeding tube.
An investigator said he arrested Margaret Mignano because an autopsy report on her daughter showed toxic levels of phenobarbital, a barbiturate used to control the girl’s seizures.
Ashley Mignano, born with severe cerebral palsy, died July 4. Her death came days after she moved with her parents from Scotch Plains, N.J., to a new home in the Tennessee community of Estill Springs.
The death was reported as suspicious when Ashley was rushed to Southern Tennessee Medical Center, said Franklin County investigator Danny Warren. A report by doctors shows she suffered sudden cardiac arrest while on a ventilator at home. Ms. Mignano, 50, was arrested August 12 and charged with murder. She was released yesterday on a $200,000 bond pending a September 8 preliminary hearing.
– Associated Press