Pa.'s Most Wanted Caught, Mayor Ejected from Wrestling Tournament Top Lehigh Valley News

One of Pa.'s Most Wanted Caught After 18 Years on Run

After nearly two decades on the run, Francisco Miranda was taken into custody in connection with the death of Jorge Valazquez, who was stabbed in the heart in a parking lot in Bethlehem in 1994, according to Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli. Miranda was the chief suspect in the death, but had vanished, spending 18 years on Pennsylvania's Most Wanted list. Police said he had been living in the Dominican Republic.

A 31-year-old Lehigh Carbon Community College nursing student died following a bout with the flu and pneumonia. David Mueller, 31, died at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, according to his obituary posted on the Heintzelman Funeral Home webpage. More people have died of the flu in Pennsylvania this season than any other flu season since 2003, when the state began tracking cases.

Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan was ejected from the District 11 Class AAA wrestling tournament last Saturday after a disputed call against a Freedom High School wrestler. The story was picked up by news outlets across the country. By Monday, Callahan had issued an apology for yelling at an official during the tournament, saying, “I should have handled this incident better.”

An Orefield woman's death was ruled a homicide from complications from a gunshot wound she suffered 30 years ago during an attempted robbery, according to the Lehigh County Coroner's office. The coroner's office had launched an investigation into death of Linda J. Knauss, 65, who died Feb. 18 at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest, after it received a cremation request from a funeral home.

Stripper's Death from Booze, Heroin Accidental, Coroner Says

An Allentown stripper who was found dead in a Bethlehem Township home in December died from the combined effects of heroin and alcohol intoxication, Northampton County Coroner Zachary Lysek said Wednesday. Lysek ruled the death of 26-year-old Amy Soule accidental. Law enforcement authorities had initially labeled the death suspicious.

Prison for Ex-Coopersburg Manager Dawn Kresge

Nodding through tears as Lehigh County Judge James Anthony asked if she understood her sentence, ex-Coopersburg manager Dawn Kresge got jail time for felony access device fraud after charging thousands of dollars on borough credit cards. Kresge, who had pleaded guilty to the charge, was sentenced to six months to 23 months in Monroe County Prison. Kresge lives in Monroe, so she is allowed to serve her prison time there. 

Sharon Gonzalez-Medina, 41, of Whitehall Township, and her 16-year-old son, George Sanchez, were the two people killed Saturdaywhen a pickup truck hit their car, which burst into flames on MacArthur Road near St. John's United Church of Christ-Mickleys.

How Do You Clean a 10-Foot Chandelier?

How do you clean a 10-foot, 87-year-old chandelier? Very carefully. State Theatre workers, as they do every three years or so, slowly lowered its ornate crystal lamp for cleaning, a process that takes 10 hours over two days.