He was charged in the May 7 slaying of Mary Ann Stephens, 64, of Toccoa, Ga. She was shot in the face outside a Jacksonville Ramada Inn by a person who grabbed her purse.

Butler, who had been jailed without bail since the slaying, claimed his arrest was a case of mistaken identity. He testified at trial that Jacksonville sheriff's detectives beat him to force him to sign a confession.

The state's case was plagued by a lack of evidence. The gun was never found, Butler's fingerprints were not on the purse, and he had no gunpowder residue on his hands or blood on his clothing or shoes.

The victim's husband, James Stephens, the only witness to the shooting, identified Butler as the assailant.

Victim in drunken driving case is awarded $7-million

FORT LAUDERDALE -- A woman who suffered brain damage when her car was struck by a drunken driver six years ago was awarded $7-million.

A six-member Broward County jury said Tuesday that the insurance companies for McFadden Leasing Inc. and Next Generation Inc. will have to pay Diana Mancuso the money. McFadden Leasing owned the sports utility vehicle that hit Mancuso. Next Generation leased it.

Mancuso, 43, was broadsided by Shane Peter Leanna on March 1, 1994, as she drove in suburban Hollywood about 2 a.m. Witnesses said Leanna, then 23, was driving at high speed on U.S. 1 in a Ford Bronco.

He was convicted of driving under the influence and causing bodily harm and served nearly two years in prison.

Mancuso cannot work because of her injuries.

Parents are convicted in boy's repeated beatings

MIAMI -- A couple accused of beating their 11-year-old son with electrical cords, belts, ropes and sledgehammers were found guilty Tuesday of aggravated child abuse.

Josefa, 44, and Ricardo Jose Davila, 37, could serve 43 years to life in prison and could be deported to their native Nicaragua.

Police said the couple tortured their son because they were embarrassed about health problems that caused him to repeatedly vomit.

Police reports said the child was locked in a bathroom for a week and tied up and blindfolded with a bucket taped to his head until he escaped and ran to a neighbor's house.

The parents previously admitted beating his hands with wooden spoons and dropping a sledgehammer on his feet, causing swelling and loss of toenails, police said.

The victim and two siblings, 6 and 13, are now living with grandparents.

Officials say report on F-16 collision could take months

BRADENTON -- Officials investigating a fatal midair collision between an Air Force F-16 and a small plane have wrapped up their on-site probe and say it likely will be months before the cause of the crash is known.

Corky Smith, National Transportation Safety Board lead investigator, said he and other investigators would begin sifting through witness statements, radar data, audio tapes and other evidence in Miami this week.

Cessna pilot Jacques Olivier, 57, of Hernando died in the Nov. 16 collision. Air Force Capt. Greg Kreuder ejected safely from the F-16.

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Lucy Morgan

From the Times state desk