Week in review

By Times staff writers

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 6, 2000

ACQUITTAL IN STING CASE: A jury acquitted Wylie and Kelly Johnson of aggravated child neglect in the death of their 2-year-old son, who died hours after he was attacked by yellow jackets.

The Johnsons' troubles began Sept. 28, 1998, during a family vacation in Town 'N Country. Their son tripped on a nest full of wasps and was stung 432 times. Instead of seeking medical help, his parents treated him with a bath of skin-soothing oatmeal. Harrison died after venom from the wasps caused his brain to swell, the medical examiner said. It's possible, but not certain, that Harrison could have been saved with earlier intervention, doctors said this week.

Judge J. Rogers Padgett barred testimony regarding the Johnsons' religious beliefs, which discourage medical treatment and compare medicine to sorcery.

DETAILS RELEASED ON FREEMAN MURDER: Hiding in her bedroom closet, Connie Freeman heard gunshots. She heard her husband Grover cry out in pain. Then the intruder lunged for her. Freeman recognized her assailant at once: Kathy Freeman, Grover's ex-wife. "You're next, b----!" Kathy Freeman said.

Documents made public by the Hillsborough County State Attorney's Office detail Connie Freeman's fight to save her life on the night of her husband's murder at their Original Carrollwood home May 15. Connie Freeman told detectives Kathy Freeman beat her with a pistol, which had jammed, and dragged her to the balcony. As Kathy Freeman tried to throw her off the balcony, Connie Freeman clawed at her throat and eyes and broke free. The documents portray Kathy Freeman as an ex-wife struggling financially, owing $75,000 to credit card companies.

The couple divorced in 1996 and Grover Freeman married Connie Freeman six months later. Kathy Freeman, 41, is charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and armed burglary. Investigators say she shot to death her 54-year-old ex-husband, a medical malpractice lawyer, then tried to kill his 50-year-old wife in the couple's lakefront home at 3113 Mossvale Lane.

Hours after the attack, sheriff's deputies said, Kathy Freeman drove her 1999 Cadillac to the Sunshine Skyway bridge. She leaped from the center span and survived the 200-foot fall.

SQUATTERS OUSTED AGAIN: Sheriff's deputies marched into woods behind commercial Hillsborough Avenue, searching for the lawless. Minutes later they returned with their five suspects. Deputies took their photos and documented their charges: Trespassing on private property.

"You all know the rules," Deputy Steve Ferreira told the group of homeless people. "If you stay here, you're going to be arrested."

The roundup was the latest in a heightened effort to evict people who camp illegally on private and public property. Business owners and a church pastor have complained that the homeless in the area are causing problems.

SUPERFUND SITE DECLARED: A site near Linebaugh Avenue and Gunn Highway has made it onto the federal Superfund list of most-polluted locations in the country. The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday added Southern Solvents Inc. to its national priorities list of 1,238 sites, said EPA project manager Kevin Misenheimer.

The site of the now defunct company, 4109 Linebaugh Ave., has been investigated since 1989 by the EPA and the Hillsborough County Health Department for chemicals leaking into the soil and water. Hazardous levels of perchlorethylene (PCE) and trichloroethylene (TCE) were found in the dirt and upper-level groundwater where the company's tanks sat.

Excessive exposure to those chemicals can cause dizziness, nausea, headaches, confusion, sleepiness, difficulty in walking and speaking and unconsciousness. Some nearby businesses were advised after past investigations to use bottled water, but no residents are known to have been affected. "We don't have evidence yet that there's a problem with residential wells," Misenheimer said. The agency estimates it will take $4.6-million to clean the site. The EPA is to test more samples to see whether contamination made it into the Floridan Aquifer at depths of 35 feet or more. Because Southern Solvents no longer in is business, it cannot be charged for the cleanup.

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