Police from Central Connecticut State University and the city of New Britain are stepping up patrols in the off-campus area amid complaints from neighbors about rowdy student behavior.

"We want to be good neighbors and there’s been some concerns expressed back and forth. So both the town and the university increased patrols on certain nights," said CCSU Chief Administration Officer Richard Bachoo.

Homes near the campus become destinations for students looking for parties, especially on Thursday nights. Some are causing problems for neighbors.

"You’d see groups of 40 or 50 people walking up and down this street being loud, some of them knocking over trash cans, throwing garbage on lawns," explained Wyatt Bosworth, a junior at CCSU.

Those antics have angered neighbors and ended with some students being arrested.

CCSU students are trying to reign in their classmates.

The student government has launched the "Be a Good Neighbor" campaign, including the Twitter hashtag #BeAGoodNeighbor, in an effort to promote mutual respect.

"It means that you need to treat the neighborhood with the same respect that you want to be treated with," expained Brendan Kruh, the treasurer of CCSU’s Student Government Association.

It’s not just about educating students.

Junior Wyatt Bosworth, who is running for city alderman, said he thinks stronger enforcement of city ordinances would help.

"The city needs to get more involved and the university needs to get more involved," said Bosworth.

Students said they will be meeting with city and university leaders next week about the problems. They stress that a small number of students are responsible for the issues.

The mother of "Baby Doe," the little girl whose body was found on Deer Island in Massachusetts earlier this year, will be charged as an accessory in the young girl's death, and her boyfriend will be charged with the child's murder.

The victim was identified Friday as Bella Bond. Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley said that 35-year-old Michael Patrick McCarthy, the boyfriend of the girl's mother, murdered her.

Bella's mother, 40-year-old Rachelle Bond of Boston's Dorchester neighborhood, has been arrested and charged as an accessory after the fact. McCarthy is hospitalized for an unrelated medical condition, but Conley said his arrest had been authorized.

"This child, whose very name means 'beauty,' was murdered," Conley said. "We allege that McCarthy caused Bella's death, that he did so intentionally, and that he and Bond took specific steps to keep Bella's death a secret and to avoid prosecution."

Conley went on to say that the cause of Bella's death has "puzzled" investigators since her body was found, but that they have "a very good idea" of what happened to her based on the evidence."

The district attorney would not elaborate on that, saying that more details would be available Monday.

Officials say the death was violent and it happened at the family's apartment on Maxwell Street in Dorchester.

Neighbors said they had noticed Bella wasn't around for the past few months, but say they assumed, like Rachelle Bond's two other children, she had been taken away by the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families.

DCF issued a statement Friday, confirming that the agency hasn't had an open case with the family for over two years.

"Since June, the Department has been working closely with law enforcement on exploring dozens of leads in hopes to identify the little girl found on Deer Island. Now that we know her name, the story is no less tragic. DCF has not had an open case with this family for over two years, but did have brief involvement with Baby Bella as an infant. Our thoughts are with Bella's extended family as the investigation into her death continues."

DCF had contact with Bella Bond in 2012 and 2013 for neglect. In both instances, it provided services and the case was closed.

Between 2001 and 2006, DCF terminated parental rights regarding two of Rachelle Bond's other children. One remains with the maternal grandmother, and the other was adopted by a non-related family.

Court documents show Bond was arrested by an undercover Boston police officer on a prostitution charge in 2010. She pleaded guilty and was placed on probation for one year.

A woman walking her dog along Deer Island found the girl's body on June 25. The child was found wearing a distinctive pair of white leggings with black polka dots and was with a zebra-print fleece blanket.

Friday, many people who felt connected to the case headed to Deer Island for closure, paying their respects to a girl who, for so long, had no name.

"We know her now," said Patricia Bonita. "We know it's baby Bella."

Bonita, who has been coming to the spot where Bella was discarded since the first vigil, says she's happy she can finally call her by her true name. Each time she goes to the makeshift memorial, she arranges rocks. Friday, she was able to write "God bless Bella."

Bella was identified thanks to a tip to the Boston Police Department's Homicide Unit. Throughout the investigation, state police have lauded the persistence of social media users who shared a computer-generated composite image of the girl - one that strongly resembled photos of Bella posted on Rachelle Bond's Facebook page.

Conley echoed those sentiments Friday, thanking everyone who helped keep Bella's face in public view.

"It was a very valuable tip," Conley said. "It's just a very good example of someone who acquired some information and called the Boston Police."

Tips from the public generated more than 100 leads, according to police.

Testing conducted on pollen samples recovered from the trash bag the girl's remains were found in suggested she spent time in the Greater Boston area. The girl's body did not show signs of advanced decomposition, suggesting that she died in the area rather than at a distant location.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said the family has no current involvement with the state Department of Children and Families, but was briefly involved with DCF in 2013 regarding Bella.

House Speaker Robert DeLeo said that McCarthy and Rachelle Bond are blaming each other.

Two people were killed and two others were seriously hurt when a tractor-trailer and passenger car collided Friday afternoon on Route 66 in Columbia near the Hebron town line, according to state police.

Police described the crash as "very serious" and said it happened around 4:10 p.m. on Route 66 at the intersection of West Street.

Footage from the scene shows the entire back wall of the tractor-trailer is sheared off.

Route 66 is closed between West Street in Columbia and Loveland Road in Hebron. 

Police said four people were involved in the crash. It's not clear whether the people killed were drivers or passengers, or in which vehicles they were traveling. They have not been publicly identified.

Emergency dispatchers said "several" ambulances and a paramedic from Windham responded to the scene, along with fire departments from Columbia and Hebron and members of the Department of Transportation.

Ambulances rushed the two injured people to Windham Hospital, and a LifeStar helicopter subsequently airlifted one to Hartford Hospital, according to state police.

Crews from Eversource and Frontier are clearing power lines that came down during the crash.

State police troopers and an accident reconstruction team are investigating. Police said Route 66 will remain closed for a significant period of time.

Check back for updates on this developing story.

Police have arrested a man suspected of brutally murdering seven people and burying their bodies behind a New Britain, Connecticut, shopping center.

William Devin Howell, who allegedly called himself the "sick ripper," is a 45-year-old drifter with a lengthy criminal record. He was charged Friday with three counts of capital felony, three counts of felony murder and three counts of murder.

Howell is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence for manslaughter in the death of Nilsa Arizmendi, whose blood was found "soaked through the fabric into the foam underneath" a seat cushion in Howell's van, according to the warrant for his arrest.

Her remains were identified in May.

Around the same time, multiple sources told NBC Connecticut that Howell was suspected of murdering several people found dead in a swampy area behind a shopping center at 593 Hartford Road in New Britain.

According to the warrant, Howell called the plot of land his "garden" and told a cellmate he had killed all seven people over a six-month span in 2003. He also sexually assaulted at least three of them.

Authorities have identified the victims as Diane Cusack, 55, of New Britain; Mary Jane Menard, 40, of New Britain; Joyvaline Martinez, 24, of East Hartford; Melanie Camilini, 29, of Seymour; Danny Lee Whistnant, 44, of New Britain; Marilyn Gonzalez, 27, of Waterbury; and Arizmendi, 33, of Wethersfield.

He killed at least two of the victims with a hammer and strangled at least two others, according to the warrant for his arrest. He also admitted to raping three of them in conversation with a cellmate.

Howell described in gruesome detail the final moments of a victim from Waterbury, whom he raped in his van and strangled, "but she wouldn't die," so he hit her in the face and head with a hammer, shattering her jaw, according to the warrant.

He then "kept her wrapped in the van for two weeks because it was too cold outside to bury her" and slept next to the woman's body, the warrant says. Howell allegedly told his cellmate he "cut off the tips of (the woman's) fingers and dismantled her bottom jaw," then "disposed of the body parts in Virginia."

Investigators in Viriginia have been helping with the case.

Howell told a cellmate at least some of the victims were prostitutes and "they all should have known they were going to die because of the life style they were living," the warrant alleges.

He added that he would have traveled across the country to continue his killing spree had he not been caught, according to the warrant. Howell said "there was a monster inside of him that just came out."

Police uncovered the first set of remains in 2007 when a hunter came across a human skull and several other bones, according to the arrest warrant. Those victims were later identified as Cusack, Menard and Martinez.

Investigators established the New Britain Serial Murder Task Force in 2014 and dug up the remains of four other people between April and May 2015.

Howell allegedly became paranoid after he was served with a search warrant in January or February 2015, asking a cellmate for a bullet and at one point swallowing 27 pills in an effort to take his own life, according to the warrant.

He was arraigned Friday in New Britain Superior Court, where a judge ordered him held on $10 million bond. He is due back in court via video conference on Oct. 28.

Information on an attorney for Howell was not immediately available.

After years of planning and construction, the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge reopened in New Haven on Saturday.

Before traffic would be allowed on the bridge’s southbound lanes thousands of people lined for their one chance to walk along it.

“I saw the original bridge and drove on that, the first day it opened in 1958,” said Jodi Marra.

Marra drove in from Guilford to see more history made as the bridge, often called the “Q,” was dedicated.

Thousands joined her. Some walked, while others took a two wheel tour and enjoyed a new view of the New Haven skyline.

“It’s just really cool to be walking across this bridge after watching it being built for the past ten years plus,” said Anthony Schaffer of Woodbridge.

Planning for the project started in the early 90’s. The Department of Transportation said the crumbling concrete and congestion convinced officials of the need for a new bridge over the Quinnipiac River.

“The original bridge was designed for 40,000 vehicles a day. Right now, it’s carrying in excess of 140,000 vehicles a day,” explained DOT Assistant District Engineer John Dunham.

That bridge carried six lanes of traffic. There are now ten, five in each direction. It will be lit at night. However, even during the day the structure with its long cables and pillar-like supports catches your eye.

“The thing that’s interesting is that it’s got the cable stays on it, so that’s unusual,” said John Babina, an infrastructure historian, and one of the first to cross over the bridge Saturday.

The extradosed design is popular in Europe and Asia.

“It’s a new design and it’s new to the United States, and we were able to capture this and implement it for the state of Connecticut,” explained Lead Bridge Designer Bob Anderson, who flew in from Tampa Bay, Florida for the dedication.

The bridge features supports that look like smoke stacks on a battleship and gold leafing to mark the day that will live in infamy.

“It’s something that will last year after year, every time they mention it they’ll remember Pearl Harbor,” said Pearl Harbor survivor Floyd Welch.

He was joined for the dedication by 97-year-old survivor Jack Stoeber.

“Just glad I made it, haha,” said Stoeber.

The bridge, which has a life expectancy of 100-years, cost $417 million. It’s part of a larger project to widen the interstate from exit 55 to 44. The project includes improvements to rail and bus lines in the corridor. Dunham said the total construction cost was $668 million. He added that the federal government picked up 87% of the tab.

The DOT said crews would put the finishing touches on the bridge next weekend, and reopen it to traffic at six am Monday September, 28th.

Police arrested a West Haven man accused of brandishing a gun during a family dispute early Saturday morning and getting involved in another domestic incident the same night, police said.

Shawn Stephens, 25, of West Haven, is facing multiple weapons charges and an assault charge after police say family members wrestled a gun away from him during an altercation and he ran from the home. Police responded at about 2:17 a.m. to a Campbell avenue home to investigate a domestic dispute.

When police got to the home, they found an unloaded tec-9 pistol without a serial number. It appeared the serial number had been removed.

The family told police that Stephens fled the home with the gun's magazine on him. As police searched for him, they received another domestic dispute call involving him at a different address, police said.

Police found Stephens at the second address and found the loaded magazine and a "sawed off" shotgun that was also his, police said.

It's unclear what the disputes were about at both locations and whether the second dispute involved family too.

Stephens is a felon with a past gun violation conviction, police said.

Police arrested him, charging him with criminal possession of a firearm, possession of a sawed off shotgun, alteration of a firearm, illegal possession of a weapon and assault.

Officers held him in custody on a bond.

The Goodwill store in Avon is celebrating its first anniversary.

To mark the occasion, NBC Connecticut teamed up with the store for a donation drive on Saturday. Viewers stopped by throughout the day to drop off their gently used goods and support the company’s mission of helping others.

“We figured we'd take a quick ride and donate about five bags of clothes that we don't need any more and help somebody else out,” said Lou Pisano, of Burlington.

“Brought multiple clothes, some coolers, lamp shades and books,” said Tom Stevens of Farmington.

As part of the event, the first 50 people who donated items all received a $5 gift card to spend in the store. All items were marked down 15 percent through noon.

“I think anytime you donate for a cause I think that's wonderful and I love the idea of recycling clothing and we all have too many things in our lives and it's great to share,” said Pat Reese of Simsbury.

Not only do donations to Goodwill help families save money, but all sales inside the stores also benefit programs to help people with employment barriers gain independence and support their families, according to Vickie Volpano, the president of Goodwill of Western and Northern Connecticut.

“Goodwill takes donated items and then sells them through our stores and helps people find work. We also help people who have disabilities and other challenges live a fulfilling life, so we use donations to help people and it really is a wonderful example of neighbors helping neighbors,” said Volpano.

The donation process is easy.

The store in Avon has a drive-thru donation line where workers greet donors right at their cars, take their items, and hand out tax deductible donation slips.

Inside, all items are sorted and tagged and then brought out to the store’s floor where shoppers stock up on the bargains.

“We were donating and we heard the sale so we decided to take a look. You can't go wrong,” said Melissa Murray, of Canton.

The donation drive took place from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday.

With a key deadline approaching, the head of the U.N. nuclear agency is leaving for Tehran Saturday for high-level meetings as he tries to accelerate his probe of allegations that Iran worked in the past on nuclear weapons.

Yukiya Amano of the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency will arrive Sunday for meetings aimed at "clarifications of past and present outstanding issues" linked to the agency's probe, spokesman Fredrik Dahl said.

On Friday, diplomats said Amano plans to push for long-delayed interviews with Iranian scientists linked to alleged experiments as well as to discuss a planned inspection of Parchin. The agency has identified that site, southeast of Tehran, as where some of the suspected work took place.

Police say an armed man locked his ex-boyfriend in a closet leading to a barricade situation in Philadelphia Saturday afternoon.

The ordeal began when a 27-year-old man broke up with his 23-year-old boyfriend, according to investigators.

After the breakup, the 23-year-old man allegedly went to the 27-year-old man’s home on the 3700 block of North 16th Street around 2:45 p.m. armed with a gun. He then locked the 27-year-old man in a closet, officials said.

Police called the 27-year-old man several times but then lost contact with him, officials said. A SWAT team arrived at the scene and set up a staging area. Residents on the second and third floors of the building were evacuated.

Police later entered the home shortly after 4 p.m. but didn't find anyone inside, according to investigators. While the barricade situation is over, police continue to search for the suspect and victim.

This story is developing. Check back for updates.

Looking for budget-friendly real estate in San Francisco?

For $350,000, you can be the proud owner of what looks like a shack in the Outer Mission neighborhood.

Located at 16 De Long Street, the 765-square-foot wooden home boasts two bedrooms and one bathroom. The structure was built in 1906 and is advertised as a “distinguished” single-family home.

“This is San Francisco,” said realtor Brian Tran, who listed the property. “You have to take into account that the value is not always in the home, but in the land.”

According to a national rent report released by Zumper in February, the median rent for a two-bedroom house in San Francisco is about $4,650. 

The house, which features wood siding, sits on a roughly 1,600-square-foot lot, meaning each square foot costs more than $450.

Tran added that the house has not been lived in “for about eight years” and both the interior and exterior need a “considerable” amount of work.

If fixer-uppers are your style, you can check out the place during an open house from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Police arrested a man on murder charges after he stabbed his nephew to death in a drunken fight in the Hartford apartment where they were temporarily living together, police said.

Jose Colon, 67, of 69 James Street, Apartment 103, Hartford, is accused of murdering his nephew, Roberto Perales, 55, of New Britain on Thursday night, police said.

Perales was temporarily living with Colon in his apartment  on James Street in Hartford when the two got into an argument while drinking alcohol and becoming intoxicated, police said. The verbal altercation escalated into a physical fight and Colon got a knife from the kitchen, stabbing Perales' arm.

The two struggled and Perales gained control of the knife, stabbing Colon. A witness called police to report the double stabbing.

Police arrived at the apartment at 9:52 p.m. to find a bloody scene as both men bled from their stab wounds. First responders treated a severe stab wound in Perales' arm at the scene and EMS personnel drove him to St. Francis Hospital in Hartford, where he was pronounced dead at 10:35 p.m.

Colon was found bleeding from the head, so he was transported to St. Francis to be treated for what turned out to be a non-life-threatening injury. Once he was released from the hospital, he was taken into police custody.

Police arrested Colon, charging him with murder. He is being held in custody on a $1 million bond.

Hartford police continue to investigate the fatal stabbing.

A plane crashed on the runway while taking off at Skylark Airport due to a power issue, East Windsor police said.

A 1959 Clark lost power during takeoff and crashed when it got to the end of the runway, police said.

The pilot of the small plane wasn't injured.

Costumed crowds will converge on the capital city yet again as Hartford Comic Con returns to the XL Center for its second year. 

Along with the cosplay, it has drawn some stars, including actor Ernie Hudson, most recognized for his role as Winston Zeddemore in the "Ghostbusters" series, actress and singer Christy Carlson Romano, who played Ren on Disney Channel's "Even Stevens" and voiced Kim Possible, and Samantha Newark, who did the voices of Jem and Jerrica on cartoon "Jem and the Holograms."

See the full list of the celebrity guests on hartfordcomicon.com and find more information about the convention and its events on the Hartford Comic Con Facebook page.

Hartford Comic Con started Saturday and runs through Sunday, Sept. 20.

They may be nicknamed “killer whales,” but a pod of orcas seemed no more than curious as they swam around a boat off the coast of San Diego.

Ben Lewis caught the magnificent sight on video as he and fellow San Diego lifeguard Todd Rice took a 20-foot panga boat about five miles from Point Loma on Sept. 10.

He said he could not tell what the dark shapes in the water were until they came closer to their vessel. Lewis estimates there were about 30 whales in the pod, varying in age and size.

According to SeaWorld spokesman Dave Koontz, these were transient orcas that are spotted along the California coast from time to time.

Little is known about their migratory patterns, he said, but it appears in this case, they may have been exploring some new surroundings, like the boat.

“Such occurrences have charmed mariners since man has taken to the ocean, and continues to delight sailors today,” Koontz said in an email Thursday.
 

A girl—who may be no older than five years old—died on Saturday and 13 other migrant are lost after their boat sank in choppy waters off the Greek island of Lesbos, officials said.

A second boat of 40 people traveling from Turkey reached the island after paddling six miles through out the night after their engine failed.

Some, like Mohammed Rezawhoe fled from Afghanistan, thought they would die.

He said neither the Greek and Turkish coastguard had assisted the group of men, women and children. "At that moment, we, all of us, thought that we are useless, we are not human."

The father of “Baby Doe, who was identified as Bella Bond —the 2-year-old whose body washed up on the shore of Massachusetts’ Deer Island in June— is expressing doubt that Bella’s mother, Rachelle Bond, was involved in her death, while friends of Bond knew the mother to have a troubled past. 

Bond was arrested and charged as an accessory after the fact; Bond's boyfriend, 35-year-old Michael McCarthy, was accused of her murder.

"She told me the whole story," Bella's biological father, Joseph Amoroso, told the Boston Herald. She was very emotional, sincere through the whole thing, and I believe her. I believe her - that it was this man who murdered our daughter, murdered a 2-year-old."

But a friend of Bond believed drugs kept the 40-year-old from being the parent she wanted to be.

"She was doing really well," said Junie Dieujuste, who lived with Rachelle Bond in a family shelter.

Dieujuste said Bella was supposed to be a new chance for Bond, who lost custody of her first two children.

"She was a beautiful little girl," Dieujuste said about Bella.

"She had a rough life - wasn't an easy one," said Doug Dutrizac, a former boyfriend of Rachelle Bond. "Inside, she was a good person. Drugs did her in."

Dutrizac says he lived with Bond for two years well before Bella was born. He said she tried to be a good mother to her two older children.

The Massachusetts Department of Children and Families terminated her parental rights with one child in 2001 and another in 2006. Years later, she pleaded guilty to a prostitution charge after a 2010 arrest.

The DCF had contact with Bella Bond in 2012 and 2013 for neglect. In both instances, the department provided services and the cases were closed.

Even after millions saw a computer-generated image of "Baby Doe" - one that looked so much like the child - no one identified her until a the Boston Police Department's Homicide Unit received a tip that led investigators to Friday's determination.

"I didn't know - every time I saw the picture, I just kept saying, 'Somebody knows something, someone knows who she is,'" Dieujuste said through tears.

On Facebook, Rachelle Bond portrayed herself as a doting mother, posting several pictures and a video of Bella's second birthday - the last the toddler would ever celebrate.

Friday, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley announced the charges against Bond and McCarthy, whose arrest had been authorized as he remained hospitalized for an unrelated medical condition.

"This child, whose very name means 'beauty,' was murdered," Conley said. "We allege that McCarthy caused Bella's death, that he did so intentionally, and that he and Bond took specific steps to keep Bella's death a secret and to avoid prosecution."

Conley went on to say that the cause of Bella's death has "puzzled" investigators since her body was found, but that they have "a very good idea" of what happened to her based on the evidence."

The district attorney would not elaborate on that, saying that more details would be available Monday.

Officials say the death was violent and it happened at the family's apartment on Maxwell Street.

New images from the New Horizons spacecraft capture Pluto's mountains, glaciers, and plains. 

A woman was hospitalized after she was sexually assaulted in her East Hartford home during a reported break-in early Saturday morning and police are looking for the suspect.

East Hartford police responded to a Collimore Road home at about 6:30 a.m. Saturday near Helm Road after receiving a call from the home about a break-in, theft and sex assault there. When police arrived, they discovered a woman was sexually assaulted there and had her transported to a hospital, as is protocol for any sex assault, police said.

The victim was treated and released from St. Francis Hospital. The nature of her injuries are unknown.

A .38 caliber Smith & Wesson gun was also stolen from the home.

Police are looking for a young man who is 13 to 20 years old who has dark hair, is possibly wearing brown shorts and a maroon shirt, police said. He had fled the scene on foot, police siad.

It's unclear if the woman knew her attacker or how the person got in.

Police have not made any arrests at this time.

East Hartford police have increased patrols assigned to the area, which they described as a quiet neighborhood, and are investigating leads.

Police ask anyone with information on the incident or the suspect to call the department at 860-528-4401.

One person is dead and two others seriously injured after a shooting in North Canaan Saturday night, according to state police.

Connecticut State Police Trooper Tyler Weerden said police responded around 5:38 p.m. to a home on Mountain View Lane after multiple 911 calls reported a shooting. When they arrived they found three individuals suffering from gunshot wounds.

One victim was pronounced dead on scene. A second victim was transported to Sharon Hospital with life-threatening injuries. The third person is believed to be the suspected shooter, and was transported by LifeStar to Hartford Hospital in critical condition, according to police.

Crews from North Canaan, Norfolk, Northern Dutchess and Falls Village departments all initially responded to assist at the scene.

Troopers searched the home and found no other victims. Western District Major Crime Squad detectives responded and are investigating. Mountain View Lane remains closed and detectives will be on scene investigating through the night. Police say there is no danger to the public at this time.
 

More than a third of Republican voters say that Carly Fiorina performed best in the Wednesday night debate on CNN, according to the latest NBC News online survey conducted by SurveyMonkey from Wednesday through through.

But debates alone rarely move poll numbers in big ways, and Trump continues to lead the crowded field with 29 percent of Republican and independent voters who lean Republican saying they would cast their vote for him.

Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina remain on an upward trajectory, now filling in the second and third spots. Jeb Bush is holding steady at 8%, about the same level of support he's seen since April in NBC News/SurveyMonkey polling.