And the plot thickens.
As we exclusively reported Saturday, a source close to Charlie Sheen's Christmas day scuffle in Colorado revealed that a "weapon of some sort," had been involved. Now the same source tells E! News the weapon present in Sheen's domestic dispute, and the cause of his felony menacing charges, was a knife.
During the reported domestic dispute between Sheen and wife Brooke Mueller, the Two and a Half Men star allegedly threatened his better half with a knife in the living room of her Aspen rental home.
Aspen's Chief Deputy District Attorney Arnold Mordkin tells E! News that he "cannot confirm nor deny" the presence of the knife, while Pitkin County Police Department spokeswoman Stephanie Dasaro would only say that additional information regarding the Sheen case will be made available on Monday.
Calls for comment from the actor's rep have yet to be returned.
Simon Monjack hasn't hesitated for a second from speaking with the media about Brittany Murphy!
Some matters are better left private, don't U think?
Monjack has given a lengthy interview with a UK tabloid, arguing against the allegations that he's a "conman" and was a bad influence on Murphy until the end.
"I know I have been called a conman," said Simon. "I am not perfect. I never said I was. But there has been so much rubbish written about me and Brittany. Most of what you read is made up."
So why, according to Monjack, has the media been so quick to point fingers at the British screenwriter???
"My problem is that I do not look like Ashton Kutcher… Nor do they like the fact that she [Brittany] married someone who was not famous. [In Hollywood], stars like stars to marry other stars," claimed Monjack.
Yeah, it had nothing to do with the accusations of owing numerous people hundreds of thousands of dollars or that he violated the terms of his American visa!
Monjack went on to describe the last few hours of Murphy's life, stating his wife was "tired and a little sad because she was sick."
And how about the bottles upon bottles of prescription meds found by Brittany's bedside after her death?
"…Addicts hide away their pills. They do not leave them on the nightstand like Brittany," said Simon. "Some of them were old and date back to when Brittany had some ailment or other. You know how people accumulate things and never throw them away."
He's got an answer for everything, doesn't he?
SSS Combs Mutallab’s Funtua Home
in a bid to get to the bottom of the matter, security operatives have combed the country home of Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, retired First Bank Chairman and father of suicide bomb suspect, Farouk Umar Abdulmutallab, in Funtua, Katsina State.
This comes as the young Mutallab is expected to appear in court on January 8, 2010 to face trial on his case in the United States.
Security officials are seeking information that would lead to unravelling the reasons why the 23-year-old attempted to blow up Detroit-bound Northwest Delta Airlines on Christmas day.
Neighbours in Funtua informed THISDAY that plain-clothe security operatives visited the house as early as 5.00am Sunday.
They were inside for two hours searching from room to room. They were believed to have gained access to the house after speaking with two elderly security men at the gate.
Already, their family home, a basement flat in a smart mansion block on Mansfield Street near Harley Street Central London, has been searched by men of the Metropolitan Police.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents also interrogated the suspect's father yesterday in Abuja in addition to another interrogation by Nigerian security officials.
The young Mutallab was charged with attempting to blow up Delta Flight 253 which he boarded on Christmas day with an explosive device.
He was arraigned at the University Hospital in Ann Harbour where he is receiving treatment for burns sustained during the failed attempt to destroy the plane carrying 278 passengers and 11 crew members.
United States District Judge Paul D. Borman arraigned Mutallab last Saturday. Agency reports say he was in a wheelchair with handcuffs on one hand. He reportedly had a bandage on his left thumb and right wrists.
He faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 if convicted.
Minister of Information and Communications, Prof. Dora Akunyili, has said Mutallab "sneaked" into the country on the 24th of December 2009 and left the same day.
In a statement, Akunyili said the nation received with "dismay" the news of the attack. She explained that "the man in question has been living outside of the country for a while. He sneaked into Nigeria on the 24th of December 2009 and left the same day.”
The minister also commented on the suspect's family.
''The father, Alhaji Umar Mutallab, who is a responsible and respected Nigerian, with a true Nigerian spirit, had earlier reported his concern about his son's activities to relevant American authorities. The father has already expressed deep shock and regret over his son's actions.
"We want to assure everybody that our airports are safe, having just passed ICAO security Audit and the American Transportation Security Administration Audit in November 2009. However, in the light of the new developments, we have reinforced our security systems in all our airports."
Akunyili has said Nigeria would co-operate with US officials in investigations. She disclosed that the country had already launched its own investigation into the matter.
She stated that Nigeria "abhors" all forms of terrorism.
News of the attempted suicide attack by Mutallab shook the world Saturday.
He boarded a KLM flight from Lagos to Amsterdam and changed planes at Schipol Airport to Delta Airlines. It was not certain whether the device was carried from Lagos. Nigerian officials however say all passengers were screened.
He was said to have gone to the bathroom for 20 minutes before returning to his seat, claiming stomach upset. He sat down, covered himself up with a blanket and popped the device which exploded in flames, according to eye witness accounts.
He was subdued by other passengers.
The White House has called the incident "an attempted act of terrorism." President Barack Obama who is on holiday in Hawaii has been briefed. He charged security officials to improve security at all airports across the country.
Mutallab attended British International School Lome, Togo. He studied engineering at University College, London between 2005 and 2008.
He was nicknamed "alfa" back in his school days at Lome due to his interest in religion. Michael Rimmer, a Briton who taught History at the school in Lome was quoted by New York Times as saying that Mutallab was well respected by his classmates in school and that he was nicknamed "the Pope."
According to Rimmer, Mutallab was the only student that defended the Taliban in Afghanistan during a discussion in 2001. Mutallab is said to have claimed link to Al-Qaeda. However, that has not been substantially established. He was known to have travelled to Yemen, Dubai and Egypt.
His father who retired recently after a scandal-free career as a top banker had expressed fears about his son's extremist views to US Embassy officials in Lagos some months back.
Mutallab's name was in the US list maintained by the country's National Counterterrorism Center and includes about 550,000 names, an official said. But he was not on a no-fly list.
US officials said the explosive device was a mix of powder and liquid. Investigations are ongoing.
Meanwhile, First Bank has said that: “it strongly condemns any act of terrorism.” In a statement signed by its group Managing Director, Mr. Bisi Onasanya, “We are therefore encouraged by report that Dr. Mutallab proactively informed the appropriate authorities of his suspicions about his son’s extreme views and we thank God that the terror mission was unsuccessful.”
BREAKING NEWS: Maryam Babangida Dies at 61
Former first lady of Nigeria, Maryam Babangida, has died after a prolonged battle with an illness believed to be cancer (Ovarian) at the age of 61. Maryam was married to the former military president, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida. A statement from Babangida’s family announced today that Maryam passed on early this morning after a protracted illness. The statement signed by Babangida’s special assistant, Ibrahim Ismail said the former chairperson of the Better Life for Rural Women during her husband's years in office had been hospitalised for ovarian cancer at University of California Los Angele's (UCLA) Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center in Los Angeles, United States. “She died beside her husband, General Babangida who has been at her bedside in the US hospital till her death.” the family said. He got married to the former president (then a major and on the Biafran/Nigerian civil warfront) on September 6, 1969 many years before he became head of state and they had four children: 2 boys, and two girls namely, Mohammed, Aminu, Aisha and Halima. Maryam was born in November, 1948 in her hometown Asaba where she got early education before proceeding to Queen Amina's College Kaduna for her Secondary education. She finished as a Secretary at the Federal Training Centre, Kaduna and later got a secretarial diploma from from Laselle University, Chicago, USA. Apart from a short stop at a vocation in her line of training, before and shortly after marriage, Mrs. Babangida remained a full time housewife, establishing and nurturing the home front until the youngest had fairly come of age. The family made an epitaphic description thus: She is an incisive thinker and passionate lover of nature, gardening, birds and home decorations, she is "a poet's dream" and with disarming charm and an admirable deft blend of winning wit, quiet confidence and child-like grace, she has brought the institution of first-ladyship out of the closet to active participation in nation building.
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