Ten-Day-Old Baby Found Dead In Washing Machine, Mother Arrested

BARTLESVILLE, Oklahoma -- Bartlesville Police are investigating the death of a 10-day-old baby. The infant's mother, Lyndsey Fiddler, has been arrested for second-degree manslaughter.

Police officers were called to a downtown apartment at 7:42 p.m. Thursday after receiving a 911 call. When they arrived, they found the infant dead inside a washing machine, having been put in there with clothes and gone through an entire wash cycle.

Bartlesville Police Chief Tom Holland says in his 40 years of police work he has never seen or heard of anything like this.

"I started in Fort Worth and have walked into apartments with seven dead bodies, seen terrible crimes, mass murder, even," Holland said.

Police say an aunt of the mother went over Thursday night to check on Fiddler and her three kids and found a terrible scene.

"The mother was asleep and she had trouble waking her and heard the washer out of balance, clanging, so went to lift the lid so it would stop and in the washing machine, saw the baby," Holland said.

Records show Fiddler has had many run-ins with Bartlesville police. She's been found guilty of larceny, assault and battery and many times for failing to show up for court.

She's also been stopped several times for speeding, driving without a license and not having her kids in car seats.

She was arrested in April for possession of a controlled drug, when she was four months pregnant. She got a one year suspended sentence and 10 days in jail, but didn't show up for court.

Fiddler's family tried back in June when she was pregnant, because they were so concerned about her drug abuse, to get her parental rights revoked, but it didn't happen.

Now, a terrible tragedy has occurred that has devastated not only her family, but also the emergency responders.

"I know the detective, he's a veteran detective who was taking photos at the hospital and he had to step out for awhile. He's got three girls," Holland said.

John Houser, A Bartisville paramedic, tried to save the baby on the way to the hospital, but it was too late.

"Terrible. I don't even know how to describe it," Houser said. He said she was so tiny when he lifted her into the ambulance, that it just broke his heart.

The infant's body has been turned over to the state Medical Examiner's Office.

Fiddler is currently being held without bond, and authorities say a bond hearing will be scheduled for this weekend.

Musical Saws Are Cutting Edge

Can a musical instrument that's been around for more than 300 years be truly cutting edge?

Maybe, if the instrument is the musical saw.

The musical saw is basically the same as handsaws found at the Home Depot. In a pinch, one of those can be used to make music.

However, to get the most range, it helps if your saw is made out of bendable metal. That's because the saw is played by sticking the handle between the knees, holding the blade in an "S" shape and playing it like a violin.

Bianca Lara switched to the saw from the violin and says the biggest snag came when the teeth sliced her fishnets.

In the hands of a master, the saw can sound beautiful, almost like a human voice. In fact, sometimes it's confused for one, according to Bianca Lara, a self-proclaimed "sawist" who adopted the saw six months ago after she saw the possibilities.

"I was playing the saw the other night with my band, Gypsy Groove, and the chef thought a human was singing," Lara told AOL News.

Lara, who enjoys playing less-appreciated instruments such as the toy accordion and glockenspiel, picked up the saw as her personal mission and swore not to play it in public until she hammered out "Ave Maria," the song that all "sawists" should play, in all the keys.

But she wasn't able to hold out that long.

"I have to play it at shows," she said. "People love it."

Lara is trying to take the saw to places it's never seen.

"I do it with a lot of hot jazz -- I don't believe it's ever been played in that genre," she said.

Well, there's a reason for that, says Natalia Paruz, who is considered the Jimi Hendrix of the musical saw.

"[The saw] is really best on slow ballads with lyrical melody lines," said Paruz, who is known as the "Saw Lady." "For instance, you can play 'Flight of the Bumblebee' on the violin, but not on the saw -- it's too fast."

Lara admits she didn't realize how hard the saw was before she started.

"Since I played violin, I thought it would be easy, but it's not transferable at all," she confessed. "On a violin, you use the bow over a certain area, but with the saw, you're moving it up and down while bending the saw.

"I literally had no tone for the first month. I had to use a mallet instead of a bow to find the sweet spots."

Natalia Paruz has played the saw professionally for 17 years and is considered the Jimi Hendrix of the instrument.

Once she was ready to play in public, she hit another snag -- literally.

"The teeth on the saw point towards the player, and I wore fishnets to the first gig and it got stuck on the hose," she laughed.

Although Paruz and Lara are women, the saw has long been a male-dominated instrument.

"It started about 300 years ago by lumberjacks who discovered that the big two-man saws could be used for music," Paruz said. "There really isn't a place of origin; it seemed to have popped in different places at the same time."

Unlike the olden days, when the saw doubled as a tool for work during the day and an instrument for play at night, Paruz believes it takes a special kind of person to play the saw.

"It's certainly not an instrument your mother makes you play," she said.

Paruz found the saw at a low point in her life.

"I was a dancer and worked with Martha Graham, but when I was run over by a car, that put an end to that," she said. "My family took me to Europe, and when I saw a man playing the saw, it was the first time I was excited about something besides dance."

That was 17 years ago, and now Paruz is carving out a lucrative career performing with everything from country and folk bands to classical quartets and even commercials.

But that isn't enough for her.

"One of my goals is to start a musical saw school, because they don't teach this at Juilliard," she said.

And there's not a huge market for them either, according to Mary Kay Dawson, owner of Mussehl & Westphal, America's biggest manufacturer of musical saws.

"We sell a few hundred a year," she said. "Last year was good, but this year is slow."

In a good year, the company, based in East Troy, Wis., sells about 500 saws, which come in a kit that sells for $86.

"There's a segment of people who would laugh at it," Dawson admitted. "But many people love it."

Especially people like Lara, who is a now a saw addict, jonesing for her next fix.

"I'm saving up to buy a $600 saw," she said. "I just got an $80 donation from a Canadian I met through Facebook, so now I only have $520 to go."

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Iowa man refuses to claim $2 million he has coming from the state

Who wants to be a millionaire?

Certainly not the Storm Lake man who steadfastly refuses to claim the $2 million he has coming to him from the state.

State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald currently holds $207 million, plus 2 million shares of stock, that belong to 823,000 different people and entities.

In addition to six- and seven-figure sums waiting to be claimed by Iowans, the Treasure Hunt holds unclaimed cash for some of Iowa's most high-profile citizens, including money owed to first lady Mari Culver and U.S. Rep. Steve King.

It's a mix of cash, stocks and property that insurers, banks, utilities and other companies have been unable to deliver to the intended recipients. The property has been turned over to Fitzgerald's office, which has, in turn, tried to track down the intended recipients as part of the Great Iowa Treasure Hunt program.

By far, the person who stands to gain the most from the Treasure Hunt program is an 85-year-old man living quietly in Storm Lake. County records indicate he has lived in the same $68,000 house for the past 33 years. He's fairly active and in recent years has been seen driving his 1990 Buick LeSabre around town. By all accounts, he's aware of the fact that the state is holding money for him - a lot of money - but has no intention of claiming it.

All told, the state is holding $1,632,427 in cash, plus stocks valued at $446,874, for this man. The Des Moines Register is not identifying him by name because he could be vulnerable to financial exploitation.

"We have made overtures to him," Fitzgerald said. "And we've had plenty of feedback from people in Storm Lake. He knows the money is there. It appears to be a situation of him not wanting to be bothered."

Deputy Treasurer Karen Austin says the office has talked to the man through an attorney who has indicated the man has no desire to claim his money. "From our perspective, of course, it doesn't really make sense," she said.

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JOKE: the Traveling Salesman and the Farmer's Daughter

One moonless night, way out in the boondocks, a traveling salesman wrecked his car. Badly battered and losing blood, he managed to crawl out of the wreckage, lifted himself to his elbows, and spotted a light in the distance. He vows to crawl toward what may be his only hope. Inch by agonizing inch, he crawled, every pebble and twig digging into his broken body. Hours later, he barely made it up the two steps to the farmhouse porch. Unable to stand, he banged his fist against the door. The farmer opened the door and nearly closed it again because he saw no one. "Down here," croaked the salesman. "I missed the curve. Wrecked my car. Need help bad." "You ain't one o' them traveling salesmen, are ya?" asked the farmer. "Yes, I am." The grizzled old man said, "Well, ya can spend the night here but I gotta warn ya: I ain't got no daughters!" There was a long pause and then the salesman asked, "So how far's the next farm?"

'My face might fall off but I'll keep having plastic surgery"

His face is ravaged from the disastrous plastic surgery he's had over the years - but Pete Burns insists he will never stop going under the knife in a bid to fix his features.

The singer has revealed that he's had yet another facelift, despite previous procedures maiming him to an extent he thought his face would 'fall off' and he'd have to have his lips amputated.

Pete has admitted that recent pictures showing him with a swollen face as he sat in the front row of a fashion row were because of a further surgical procedure.

'Getting a new face is like buying a sofa': Pete Burns says he'll go under the knife again in another couple of years

But talking to this week's Reveal magazine, he confessed: 'My most recent overhaul was about a month ago. I had a minor facelift and my eyes slanted.

'I also have regular peels and Botox. I't something I'll always do. People redecorate their homes every few years and I see this as no different. Changing my face is like buying a new sofa.'

Pete, 51, won �450,000 in damages last year from cosmetic surgeon Dr Maurizio Viel, who the singer claims left him 'suicidal' after his lip implant operations went wrong.

'I get bored with how I look': The singer says he'll continue to go under the knife despite numerous botched operations

However, he's now removed most of them.

He explained: 'I had piercings all over my face, which did look dreadful, but I got them done while waiting for my hisband Michael to get a tattoo. I was bored.'

The Liverpudlian said he had his first surgery - a nose job - in the 1980s after the money started rolling in from hits like You Spin Me Round with his band Dead Or Alive

Day out: Burns went out for a coffee on the Kings Road with husband Michael

But he said even that went wrong and his nose was so crooked he could no longer wear sunglasses.

However, he said it didn't put him off and he went on to have an implant in his top lip, then filler injections.

But in 2004 an infection set in, which saw his lips swell to 18 inches.

This week's Reveal magazine, out now

The star - who appeared on Celebrity Big Brother in 2006 - continues: 'My doctor punctured it and the yellow dishcarge that came out filled two mugs. I was put on antibiotics but my whole face began to swell.

'I was housebound for nine months and couldn't move my head - discharge would pour out.'

He finally found a corrective surgeon who said he could help.

Pete continued: 'One told told me that my lips were so bad they would need amputating. It was terrifying.'

However, he said he would continue to go under the knife and insisted: 'I don't feel like I'm addicted to surgery.

'I could leave it alone for long periods of time if I wanted...I'll wait another couple of years before my next overhaul...my face might fall off!'

Burns, who was married to stylist Lynne Corlett until 2006, married partner Michael Simpson in a civil partnership in 2007.

Popstar: Pete at the height of his fame in the 1980s with Dead Or Alive

The Charlie Sheen is Too Damn High Party

The Charlie Sheen is Too Damn High Party from Jimmy McMillan

Woman tries to sell 12-week-old grandson for $30,000

Authorities arrested a Holly Hill woman on Friday on charges that she tried to sell her 12-week-old grandson. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement arrested 45-year-old Patty Bigbee, of Holly Hill, on Friday. Investigators said they arrested her at about 4 p.m., when she met with a buyer in Daytona Beach.

Deputies announced later that they'd arrested a second person connection with the case. Lawrence Works, 42, of Holly Hill, was charged with being a principal to the illegal sale or surrender of a child. It's unclear what his connection is to Bigbee or the child.

The FDLE said the investigation began in October, when they said Bigbee approached an unidentified "third party," offering to sell the baby for $75,000. Investigators say the buyer talked down the price of the infant to $30,000, which Bigbee agreed to accept. FDLE agents said they arrested Bigbee at the scene of the would-be transaction, turning the infant over to the Department of Children and Families.

Officials said the baby's mother is currently incarcerated on unrelated charges. Bigbee was booked into Volusia County Jail on charges of illegal sale or surrender of a child and communication fraud. The FDLE said its investigation is ongoing. Officials described the buyer as a "confidential source." A Department of Children and Families spokesman said the baby showed no outward signs of neglect or abuse and is "doing well."

JOKE: A newcomer was drinking in an Old West saloon

A newcomer was drinking in an Old West saloon when a cowboy ran through the swinging doors, yelling, "Big Jake's a'comin'!" The place immediately emptied, leaving the newcomer and his beer alone at the bar. Sure enough, soon a seven-foot-tall, 350-pound cowboy swaggered in, barely fitting through the double doors. He glanced around the saloon and, seeing no one but our friend, marched over to him, grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, threw him over the bar, and bellowed, "Gimme whiskey!" The shaken man complied, found a full bottle, and placed it and a glass on the bar. The huge cowboy bit the glass neck right off the bottle, spat it on the floor, and emptied the fifth in one giant swig. Our friend, not sure what to do next, timidly asked, "Uh, do you want another?" The cowboy growled, "Nope. Gotta go. Big Jake's a'comin'!"