News of the Weird: Week of October 6, 2022

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Holding A Grudge

A family is seeking to press charges against an unnamed man who was briefly married to their mom in the 1970s, the New York Post reported. Their beef? Allegedly, the New Jersey man arrives at Linda Torello's tombstone in Orangetown, New York, early almost every morning with his current wife in tow, where he urinates on her grave and sometimes leaves a bag of excrement. Torello died in 2017, according to her son, Michael Andrew Murphy, 43. In April of this year, he and his sister discovered a bag of poop and supposed a dog walker had dropped it. When the second bag showed up, they called police. Then they went to work, setting up a trail camera that recorded the man's visits, and on Sept. 18, taking video with a cellphone that identified him as Torello's onetime husband. "My sister was crying ... I was sick I was so angry," Murphy said. "No one in my family has had contact with him since 1976 or so." Police have been unhelpful; Murphy said he's called them three times and they won't put him in touch with a detective.

Ewwwwww

Amanda Gommo, 51, of Bristol, England, required hospitalization after an unfortunate incident involving her daughter's Chihuahua, Belle, the Daily Mail reported on Sept. 26. As Gommo and Belle cuddled together during a nap, Belle suffered "violent diarrhea," some of which fell into Gommo's open mouth. "It was disgusting, and I was hurling violently for hours after -- I just couldn't get the taste out of my mouth," Gommo said. Afterward, she suffered stomach cramps so bad that two days later, she went to the hospital, where doctors discovered an infection that had been passed on by the dog. "I'm happy to say both me and Belle are on the mend," she said, but noted that she'll "be more mindful of what position we sleep in in the future." 

Bright Ideas

• Can't sleep? Pack your bags and head for Sussex, England, where you can spend a night next summer in a "luxurious" double bed at the Shleep Sanctuary, according to the Daily Star. As you drift away, numbered actual sheep will mill around the grassy hillside outside the glass dome enclosing your bed. Emma Sleep, a tech company, is offering the one-night stay, which includes dinner, morning yoga and breakfast. "Counting sheep is more than an old wives' tale," said Dr. Dennis Schmoltzi, CEO. "It's a tried-and-true visualization technique that Brits are relying on to send them to sleep." Zzzzzzz. 
• From the "make your resume stand out" files: Karly Pavlinac Blackburn, 27, of Wilmington, North Carolina, was recently laid off from her job, the New York Post reported. Hoping to land a position with Nike in Beaverton, Oregon, and knowing they'd be celebrating Just Do It Day on Sept. 8, Blackburn cooked up a plan: Working with Albertson's Grocery Store, she ordered a sheet cake with an edible resume printed on top. Next, she talked with Instacart driver Denise Baldwin, who promised her she would "do whatever it takes to get this cake to where it needs to be." Sure enough, Baldwin delivered the sweet treat into the appropriate hands, and Blackburn has meetings on the calendar with the sportswear brand -- and more. "There are a bunch of companies that are kind of involved in the process," she revealed. 

The Neighbors (Naked Edition)

The obvious question is: Why are there so many naked people outdoors these days? On Sept. 25 in McMinnville, Oregon, KOIN-TV reported, an "unclothed male subject" was in his front yard, which drew the ire of his across-the-street neighbor. The neighbor launched two full beer cans, hitting the naked man's house, which prompted him to go inside to retrieve a shotgun. The neighbor grabbed a handgun and shot five shots into the ground in an effort to scare the naked man. No one was hurt, but the beer thrower was cited for criminal mischief.

Sweet Revenge

Porch pirates in a south Austin, Texas, neighborhood are driving residents crazy, KXAN-TV reported. The same people in the same car are hitting front stoops day and night, so a woman identified only as Gabriela came up with a plan. Her husband put a box of used, dirty diapers on the porch, and sure enough, "The same people came back and took the package," she said. Unfortunately, they "came back and smeared those diapers on our front door. Thirty minutes later, they came back with a giant bag of cow manure. They spread that all over our front porch and on our cars in the driveway. I called police, filed a report, and now there's a detective on the case." Britany Walker, who lives near Gabriela, confronted the thieves herself, yelling, "I have a baby," but she said they just laughed at her. "It was a really upsetting moment." Austin police advise against engaging with the suspects. 

Unclear on the Concept

A second grader in Jacksonville, Florida, has been expelled from Victory Christian Academy after their parents objected to a homework assignment suggesting students "send a picture of you doing reading homework in the bathtub," Action News Jax reported on Sept. 22. Misty Dunham emailed the teacher: "Hey, you might want to explain that. Send something out to the parents. Let them know what the intentions are." Dunham also reached out to school administrators and the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. School officials responded by suggesting that the Dunhams "should do a parental withdrawal for the child." When Dunham refused, the school expelled the 8-year-old. Pastor Jesse Latta issued a statement about the assignment but did not address the child's removal from the school. 

It's a Mystery

American Airlines appears to have an unexplained noise issue on its planes, The Washington Post reported. On a Sept. 6 flight from Los Angeles to Dallas, passengers were subjected to groans and moaning that sounded human and vaguely sexual. Passenger and film producer Emerson Collins recorded the noises and posted them to TikTok; his guess was that someone was pranking the public address system on the plane. Collins walked up and down the aisle looking for a possible culprit, but "I didn't see anything," he said. Passengers on different American flights have reported hearing a hearty "oh yeah" when the plane landed and the "moans and groans of someone in extreme pain," but spokesperson Sarah Jantz said the noises are "caused by a mechanical issue with the PA amplifier." Maybe. Or maybe the ghosts of passengers past? 

Wait, What?

In January, Reebok introduced a new sneaker in collaboration with the French luxury brand Maison Margiella. The Classic Leather Decortique Tabi Low is distinctive for its "toe cleavage" design -- and now, Indy100 reported, for being identified as a sign of the devil. A Facebook page called Prophecy News warned followers on Sept. 19 that the shoes resemble the feet of Baphomet, a goat deity associated with the occult. Reebok's Instagram account has drawn similar reactions: "This is so satanic!! My family will never buy another shoe from you," one follower wrote. Another said, "Satanic, no way will I ever wear those." Reebok counters that the shoes are based on a traditional Japanese shoe design called tabi.