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COVID-19 ‘raging’ in New Jersey as leaders weigh next steps

December 18, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — With COVID-19 “raging” in New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy said this latest surge could bring about the return of some restrictions.

New Jersey reported back-to-back days of over 6,000 new confirmed cases on Thursday and Friday, as infections have dramatically spiked in recent weeks, state data shows. This time last month, the state was reporting under 2,000 daily new cases.

The number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 has also been on the rise in the past month, from fewer than 700 in early November to over 1,700 currently, according to state data. COVID-19 patients in intensive care units and on ventilators are also up.

“The pandemic is still in our midst and unfortunately still raging,” Murphy said during a press briefing Friday. “This thing is still with us, and sadly, the numbers are going up.”

State health officials have pointed to the highly transmissible delta variant, indoor gatherings, holiday travel and waning immunity as fueling that trajectory. The new omicron variant, which early data suggests is more transmissible than delta, is another challenge.

A small percentage of omicron cases have been detected in New Jersey, though Murphy said it is likely more prevalent in the region. In its latest modeling, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that omicron makes up 13% of COVID-19 cases in the New York and New Jersey area, the highest in the nation.

The majority of cases and hospitalizations for COVID-19 have been in unvaccinated people, Murphy said. On average, 80% of COVID-19 patients in New Jersey’s hospitals are unvaccinated, state health commissioner Judy Persichilli said earlier this week. Around 30% of state residents are not fully vaccinated, according to federal data.

Around 37% of eligible residents have received a booster dose so far, Persichilli said Wednesday during a press event promoting vaccination.

In an effort to get more residents inoculated and receive booster shots, the state has reopened three vaccine mega-sites so far this month, in addition to offering doses at pharmacies, supermarkets, community centers and hospitals.

Hospital leaders have also been urging vaccination and booster doses amid rising hospitalizations and the new omicron threat. At University Hospital in Newark, 39% of COVID-19 patients are fully vaccinated but not boosted as of Friday, according to President and CEO Dr. Shereef Elnahal. COVID-19 hospitalizations overall have also increased over 100% from two weeks ago, he said.

“We’re facing new challenges and unanticipated challenges with the delta variant and the omicron variant,” Elnahal said during Wednesday’s press event. “We have a task ahead of us to communicate clearly to this community that boosting is necessary to keep folks safe.”

Murphy said state officials will be keeping a close eye on breakthrough cases, among other metrics, as they weigh next steps.

“Breakthrough cases that are significant and severe — significant in numbers and severe in their health implications — that is something that we’re going to be watching very closely,” he told reporters Friday.

Residents could expect to see “a whole range of things happening,” he said, such as proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test for events, “whether the state decides to do it or whether individual locations start to do it.”

“My fear is that we’re gonna get back into capacity limits in some form or another,” he added.

One local leader has already implemented temporary vaccination requirements amid the surge.

Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla, along with the city’s Office of Emergency Management, issued an executive order this week mandating that any bar or restaurant participating in a bar crawl this weekend must require attendees to show proof of vaccination or be “subject to immediate closure, liquor license revocation or disciplinary suspension.”

The order came ahead of a scheduled SantaCon bar crawl.

“If you’re not vaccinated, our message is simple: don’t bother participating in a bar crawl this weekend,” Bhalla said in a statement.

Afghan Air Force pilots trapped in Afghanistan plead for evacuation

December 18, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(KABUL, Afghanistan) — Around two dozen U.S.-trained former Afghan Air Force pilots are still trapped in Afghanistan and pleading for the United States government to evacuate them from the country, where they fear they face execution if found by the Taliban.

The pilots belong mostly to two helicopter squadrons and have been in hiding since the Taliban seized Kabul in August. According to several of the pilots who spoke to ABC News, they are living on the run in safe houses and struggling to feed themselves while frantically trying to find a way out of Afghanistan as the Taliban continue to search for them.

The aviators are among thousands of former Afghan military personnel who were left behind during the mass evacuations in August and who, for now, have no route out.

Former and current U.S. military officers who are lobbying to have the pilots evacuated say they are frustrated, because they believe the U.S. government’s current refugee policy treats them as a low priority despite the clear danger to them.

“They’re not really being given any kind of priority right now,” said David Hicks, CEO of Sacred Promise, an NGO created by current and former American military officers trying to help Afghan military personnel leave.

“They’re U.S.-trained, they know English, have worked with the U.S. and have fought the Taliban directly,” Hicks, a former brigadier general, told ABC News. “One would think individuals of that caliber would get some level of prioritization in the big-picture process. And here they are, just sitting in the back of the line right now.”

Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Robert Lodewick told ABC News it was aware that former members of the Afghan Air Force remain in Afghanistan and said “we are working all available options to facilitate their departure.”

He said the State Department has helped over 800 Afghan Air Force and Special Mission Wing personnel begin the resettlement process since Aug. 31.

Since taking power, the Taliban have rounded up former Afghan military personnel it believes are a threat or useful to them and, in some cases, have imprisoned or killed them. Human Rights Watch found that Taliban forces have summarily executed or disappeared over 100 former police and intelligence officers in four provinces since August. The total such killings is likely higher.

The pilots say their squadrons killed hundreds of Taliban fighters during the war, including senior commanders, meaning they will almost certainly face harsh retribution.

“Maybe they will cut our skin from our body,” one of the pilots told ABC News by phone from hiding. ABC News is not identifying him or other pilots for their security.

The pilot, a former captain, flew helicopters as part of two squadrons that were based in Kabul and Kandahar. The squadrons’ pilots were highly trained, with many receiving instruction abroad, including in the U.S., and they worked closely with American military advisers.

They were unable to get onto U.S. evacuation flights from the Kabul airport amid the city’s chaotic fall in August. Since then, the Taliban have closed Afghanistan’s borders. Commercial flights from Kabul are stopped, and chartered evacuation flights have slowed to a trickle.

Now scattered across Afghanistan, some with their families, the pilots say they are largely unable to go outside for fear of falling into the Taliban’s hands. Unable to work, their money is running out and they are increasingly struggling to feed their families amid a humanitarian catastrophe in the country, several of the pilots said.

“They left us in the really bad situation. Because even we don’t have money to buy food for our kids,” another pilot said. He has four children, ages 2 to 9, and one has a serious blood disorder.

“We fought years for U.S. goals, but in the end they left us behind alone in poverty,” he said.

More than 500 Afghan Air Force personnel were able to escape Afghanistan in August by flying their aircraft to neighboring Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. After they spent weeks in detention, the U.S. succeeded in airlifting them to Dubai, where they will be processed for resettlement to the U.S.

But the pilots trapped in Afghanistan said they have been told there is little prospect of getting them out in the short term.

One or two charter flights facilitated by the U.S. government or organized by private charities continue to leave Afghanistan most weeks, but they are mainly carrying civilians. The number of flights has greatly fallen since August, and those being approved for seats on them has slowed. Only around 3,000 Afghans have been evacuated since late September.

U.S. military officers lobbying to help the pilots said they believe, while difficult, it should be possible to get the pilots onto evacuation flights if they are given the right priority.

Hicks, of Sacred Promise, said he thinks many former Afghan military personnel are currently lower priority than civilians, despite having strong claims for refugee status.

The State Department has been prioritizing the evacuation of so-called Special Immigrant Visa or SIV holders, which are Afghans who worked directly for the U.S. mission. In early August before the Afghan government collapsed, the Biden administration created another type of refugee status, known as Priority 2, or P2, for Afghans deemed at-risk but who had not worked for the U.S. government directly. It was meant for women’s rights activists, journalists and former Afghan military personnel, but applicants must depart the country first — too high a hurdle for many.

Hicks said that system has created a situation where Afghan military personnel, despite often being in more danger than some SIV evacuees, are still stuck behind, with no prospect of fast rescue.

“I don’t understand how literally someone — no offense to anybody — but how someone could be a janitor working at the U.S. Embassy has a higher priority than an Afghan Air Force or Special Mission Wing pilot who’s been fighting the Taliban,” Hicks said.

Sacred Promise’s staff includes current military officers who for years worked as mentors with the pilots in Afghanistan and who are able to verify their identities. Hicks said the NGO has already vetted 2,000 former Afghan military personnel, who he said could immediately start being processed for asylum if evacuated.

Some senators, including Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) have called for the Biden administration to step up its efforts to get at-risk Afghans out, saying it is not doing enough.

Hicks and the pilots acknowledged that the U.S. government is facing a gargantuan challenge in getting people out. But he said he believes that since his organization is able to help vet the pilots — and considering the urgent danger to them — it makes sense to move faster on them.

“That’s the thing that frustrates us the most, and we’re trying to get the discussion why that prioritization can’t get tweaked or adjusted in this situation,” he said.

The pilots still in Afghanistan fear time is running out for any evacuation. They said they have become particularly alarmed since they now believe the Taliban has found a database that holds their personal details and biometric data, including finger prints.

Trapped at home, one of the pilots has little to do but worry. He finds himself watching videos on social media of executions of ex-Afghan military members.

“As we give them more time, they have more chance or opportunity to find us,” he said. “If I stay in Afghanistan, they will definitely arrest me one day.”

COVID-19 pills could be game-changer, but doctors worry about early access, uptake

December 18, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — As rates of COVID-19 infections rise during the holidays and omicron cases surface across the United States, drug companies Pfizer and Merck are preparing to launch the first COVID-19 pills. If authorized by the Food and Drug Administration, these at-home treatments could be prescribed by doctors and picked up at your local pharmacy to reduce the risk of becoming severely ill.

“In early clinical research studies, both [drugs] demonstrated a significant decrease in the progression of COVID-19 in high-risk patients,” said Dr. Roy M. Gulick, chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

Both drug companies emphasize that their medications will likely be effective against the omicron variant.

Public health officials remain concerned about a pending winter surge. People with higher risk factors — the unvaccinated, immune compromised, elderly and those with chronic conditions — need the pills most and may benefit the most, said Dr. Arthur Kim, an infectious disease specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital.

But with both pills on the cusp of potential FDA authorization, physicians have expressed concern about uptake and access. One concern is that the pills need to be taken early — within the first three to five days after diagnosis.

They are most effective “before a person becomes critically ill,” said Dr. Paul Currier, director of the Respiratory Acute Care Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital. “Once a patient becomes critically ill, the virus has already caused a lot of inflammation in the body that likely cannot be stopped by medicines that only target the virus itself.”

That could pose a logistics challenge, experts said, as people with mild symptoms are currently encouraged to stay home to avoid spreading COVID-19 to others.

At first, the pills will only be available with a doctor’s prescription, and with health care resources still strained, “delays in testing and capacity will reduce their effectiveness in the real world,” Kim said.

Both treatments require patients to take several pills twice per day for five days.

But pharmaceutical executives are optimistic that the pills will make a significant dent in the pandemic.

Pfizer’s pill has the “potential to save the lives of patients around the world,” said Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla.

Bourla estimated that 1,200 deaths and 6,000 hospitalizations would be prevented for every 100,000 COVID-19 patients who take the pills.

But pharmaceutical companies say emphatically these pills should be used as a last resort and for patients who are already sick. Getting vaccinated is by far the safest and most effective way to prevent getting COVID-19, or becoming severely sick if you do.

“I want to emphasize that no one should use the existence of the pill as an excuse to avoid vaccination,” Bourla said.

“The best way to prevent getting seriously ill from COVID-19 is to use the strongest preventative measures we have: wearing masks and getting vaccinated,” Currier said.

When taken early, Pfizer’s treatment was 89% effective at reducing the risk of severe illness, hospitalization and/or death from COVID-19, according to the company. Merck’s pill, meanwhile, reduced the risk of severe illness, hospitalization and death by 30%, it said.

If authorized by the FDA, Merck and Pfizer’s COVID-19 pills could be available as early as next month.

Dr. Navjot Kaur Sobti is a cardiovascular disease fellow physician, rising interventional cardiology fellow and board-certified internal medicine physician at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. She is a member of the ABC News Medical Unit.

COVID cases in New York state triple, hit new record on Friday

December 17, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — New York State reported 21,027 positive COVID test results on Thursday, a new single-day record, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Friday.

This brings the positivity rate in New York to 7.98%. The state also reported 60 new COVID-related deaths over the last two days.

“The winter surge in COVID-19 cases is a reminder that the pandemic is not over yet, and we must take extra care to keep ourselves and each other safe,” Hochul said in a statement. “The vaccine is still our best weapon to defeat the virus and ensure we are safe from serious illness. Get the shot if you haven’t yet and the booster if you have, mask up, and wash your hands.”

The state also reported 178 confirmed omicron cases. It’s likely there are more because only a fraction of positive results are sequenced to determine which strain of the virus it is.

Last week, as the number of cases began to rise, the state reinstated its indoor mask mandate for businesses or venues that don’t implement a vaccine requirement.

According to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering, more than 5.3 million people have died of COVID around the world. The approximately 805,000 Americans are the most in a single country.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a plan on Thursday to help fight this latest surge. Measures will include distributing half a million rapid home tests through community organizations in addition to 1 million KN95 masks.

“We have seen a very substantial increase in COVID cases in the past few days,” the mayor said. “It is clear that the omicron variant is here in NYC, in full force.”

“This variant moves fast — we need to move a lot faster,” de Blasio added.

Florida police issue missing child alert for 12-year-old Edilsy Roca, say she could be in ‘danger’

December 17, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(FORT MYERS, Fla.) — Police in Fort Myers, Florida, issued a missing child alert for 12-year-old Edilsy Roca from Lee County.

According to police, Edilsy was last seen in Fort Myers at approximately 10:30 pm Monday walking in the area of Gardenia Ave.

In an updated alert, the Fort Myers Police Department said Friday afternoon that detectives believe Edilsy could be with her mother and her mother’s boyfriend in Lehigh Acres, an area in Lee County, and if the child is found in her mother’s custody, “she could potentially be in danger.”

Along with a photo of the child, police released pictures of her mother, Imilsy Medina, and her boyfriend, Fabio Miguel Costa Araujo, on the Fort Myers Police Department Facebook page and urged anyone with information about Edilsy’s whereabouts to contact the police.

Medina, 30, has brown hair and brown eyes, while Araujo, 31, has brown hair and gray eyes.

Police said that Imilsy Medina may be wearing glasses and urged members of the public not to approach either Medina or Araujo but to contact police immediately.

According to the missing child alert, Edilsy was wearing a gray crop top, black sweatpants and black sandals when she was last seen.

Edilsy, who is Black, has brown hair and hazel eyes, is 5 feet tall and weighs 110 lbs.

It is unclear who reported Edilsy missing and when police were first notified.

A spokesperson for the Fort Myers Police Department told ABC News on Friday afternoon that no further information is available as this is an ongoing investigation.

Anyone with information about Edilsy’s location can contact the Fort Myers Police Department at (239) 321-7700 or SWFL Crime Stoppers.

Major sports and entertainment events canceled, rescheduled due to rising COVID-19 cases

December 17, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — With a rise in COVID-19 cases across the nation alongside spread of the new omicron variant, several major events this week have been rescheduled or canceled.

New York and Washington, D.C., on Friday and Wednesday, respectively, reported the most COVID-19 cases in a single day, breaking their pandemic records.

In sports
The NFL on Friday rescheduled its Saturday game between the Cleveland Browns and the Las Vegas Raiders to Monday 5 p.m. ET.

According to a statement from Cleveland Browns Senior Vice President of Communications Peter John-Baptiste, all members of the organization who recently tested positive were vaccinated.

Sunday’s games between the Washington Football Team and Philadelphia Eagles, and between the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks were also postponed to Tuesday.

In a statement, the NFL said they made these schedule changes “based on medical advice” after “seeing a new, highly transmissible form of the virus.”

This trend is observable in other sports as well, as the NHL earlier announced it was rescheduling all games for the Colorado Avalanche and Florida Panthers through at least the Christmas weekend amid a COVID-19 outbreak.

The organization pointed to rising positive cases within the last two days and the continued spread of COVID-19 as a concern.

A shutdown on the Calgary Flames, which has already had six games postponed, has been extended through Dec. 23.

In entertainment
Rising cases have also affected events within the entertainment sphere. Shows like “A Christmas Carol” in Los Angeles’ Ahmanson Theatre were canceled due to breakthrough infections among the show’s cast.

In New York, The Rockettes canceled four shows of “The Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes” scheduled for Friday also due to “breakthrough COVID-19 cases in the production,” a representative said.

On New York’s Broadway, “Moulin Rouge! The Musical on Broadway” also canceled its Friday show due to positive cases within the show company.

Earlier this week, several other Broadway shows like “Hamilton” and “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” had also canceled shows due to infections, local ABC affiliate WABC-TV reported.

On Dec. 12, singer-songwriter Doja Cat pulled out of future iHeartRadio’s Jingle Ball Tour performances after testing positive for COVID-19.

She announced on Instagram that she tested positive after a few members of her production team also tested positive.

Russia makes sweeping demands for security guarantees from US amid Ukraine tensions

December 17, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Russia published a list of sweeping new security guarantees it wants from the United States and NATO on Friday — including a promise not to expand the alliance — staking out demands for de-escalating the crisis it has stoked around Ukraine.

The radical proposals would rewrite the post-Cold War security order in Europe, obliging the U.S. and NATO to commit to not admitting any new members, including Ukraine, but also effectively prohibiting any NATO military activity in Eastern Europe and most of the former Soviet Union.

The demands were presented in two draft treaties that Russia’s foreign ministry published on Friday, with Russia saying it had passed them to the Biden administration earlier this week.

But the U.S. and NATO countries have already previously ruled out Russian demands for a veto on the alliance’s expansion and on Friday a senior Biden administration official immediately rejected the two key Russian proposals to bar Ukraine from ever joining or NATO expanding farther eastward.

“We will not compromise on key principles on which European security is built,” the administration official told reporters, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

“All countries have the right to decide their own future and their own foreign policy, free from outside interference, and that goes for Ukraine and it also goes for NATO allies and the alliance itself,” the senior administration official said, adding President Joe Biden made that clear to Russian President Vladimir Putin during their call last week.

Russia made the proposals against the backdrop of its military buildup near Ukraine, where the U.S. says Russia has massed over 100,000 troops, with the implicit threat it could use force if its demands are not met.

Western countries fear Putin may be preparing a new major military incursion against Ukraine and have been trying to understand whether the Russian leader is really prepared to escalate the conflict this winter.

Friday’s proposals addressed a grievance the Kremlin has nurtured for nearly three decades about NATO’s expansion since the Cold War — into what Moscow views as its sphere of influence.

The Russian draft treaties call for NATO to remove any troops or weapons from countries that joined the alliance after 1997, meaning most of Eastern Europe, including Poland, the Baltic states and Balkan countries. It also calls for the U.S. and Russia to refrain from deploying troops in areas where they could be perceived as a threat to each countries’ national security, and a ban on sending their aircraft and warships into areas where they could strike each other’s territory. The treaty would also ban the deployment of intermediate-range missiles in Europe.

The limits on NATO in Eastern Europe are seen as a non-starter by most experts. Most analysts in Moscow believe the Kremlin itself is aware that the proposals are unrealistic. Some said that rather than real goals, they may represent an opening gambit aimed at winning some concessions.

“This is a bargaining position — [the Kremlin] is trying to get some degree of partial acceptance,” Andrey Kortunov, head of the Russian International Affairs Council, told The Moscow Times.

The senior Biden administration official said that while it rejected out of hand the proposed limits on NATO membership for Ukraine and others, it was reviewing the other Russian proposals, hinting it was possible there might be some areas for discussion.

The official noted that several of the issues raised by Russia — arms control for example — were already being dealt with in different talks between the U.S. and Russia. The official said the U.S. would respond with a “more concrete” proposal to the Russians next week after consulting with allies, but added it will include a list of their own concerns “about Russia’s posture and behavior.”

But other analysts found the unrealistic nature of Russia’s demands disturbing, interpreting them as perhaps a sign the Kremlin is laying the groundwork now to justify an invasion that it will paint as the result of failed negotiations.

“I don’t see this as something aimed at a productive negotiation, even if some parts of this could have been discussed and considered privately,” Vladimir Frolov, a former Russian diplomat and current foreign affairs commentator, told ABC News.

Dmitry Trenin, the director of the Carnegie Moscow Center, wrote on Twitter that Russia publishing the demands now “may suggest that Moscow (rightly) considers their acceptance by west unlikely.” That means Russia is more likely to use military force to ensure they are realized, he said.

Russia’s buildup has not stopped since Biden and Putin’s call last week, with satellite imagery showing vehicles and equipment continuing to appear at new sites near Ukraine. Most experts believe the Russian troops will not withdraw while the Kremlin continues its diplomatic push for concessions.

Notre Dame restoration kicking off in France

December 17, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(PARIS) — After 2 1/2 years of cleaning and consolidating — and a pandemic that halted French workers for a few months — the restoration phase of the Notre Dame cathedral is set to kick off this winter.

The night of April 15, 2019, a massive fire tore through the roof of world famous cathedral in Paris, collapsing the spire. The first block of wood to be used in the new spire — at the very base of a structure that should rise 255 feet above ground — was produced in a lumbermill in the western France town of Craon on Thursday.

Rebuilding Notre Dame is a colossal national project. Mickael Renaud, owner of a lumbermill called The Giants, told ABC News, he was proud to play a part, adding that his lumber mill had to expand storage capacity simply to house the huge blocks of wood required.

French President Emmanuel Macron promised in July 2020 that everything lost in the fire would be rebuilt in its original form — over 1,000 centennial trees were carefully selected from French forests and sent to sawmills across the country.

According to the head of the establishment for the conservation and the restoration of Notre Dame, Gen. Jean-Louis Georgelin, the plan is to reopen the church to the public in 2024.

While hundreds of artisans are focused on reproducing an exact replica of the cathedral, there also are plans to change the interior lighting and liturgic design. Those plans include a different entrance for the public, adding holograms of biblical phrases in several languages and integrating contemporary art, changes that are causing a stir among some critics. The plan was partially validated by the National Commission for Heritage and Architecture on Dec. 9.

For Monseigneur Aumônier, the bishop in charge of the interior design of the cathedral on behalf of the Catholic Church, the updates are part of an effort to recognize the building’s value not just for France but the whole world.

“The Catholic liturgy will be celebrated in Notre Dame as ever,” he told ABC News. “But, naturally with the new visibility of Notre Dame, it’s very helpful for us to guide people who will visit.”

Art Historian Didier Rykner told ABC News that such major changes threatened the integrity of the medieval structure.

“Nobody wants this — we want Notre Dame back as before,” he said. Tourists “will want to see Notre-Dame like it was before, not like it will be now.”

‘Shopping cart killer’ linked to at least 4 Virginia slayings, police say

December 17, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(HARRISONBURG, Va.) — Police in Virginia said they believe an alleged serial killer whom they’ve dubbed the “shopping cart killer” may be responsible for the deaths of four people — and possibly more.

Authorities said Friday that a suspect who was previously charged with the murders of two women, whose bodies were found in a lot in Harrisonburg in November, is believed to be connected to the deaths of two more people whose remains were found this week in a wooded area of Alexandria.

“We’re here today to talk about a serial killer — and that is a phrase that I’ve used sparingly in my three decades in this profession,” Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said during a press briefing.

“He preys on the weak and preys on the vulnerable,” Davis added. “Our shopping cart killer does unspeakable things with his victims, and it’s our collective duty and responsibility to bring justice and closure to all of our communities.”

Two missing Virginia women — Allene Elizabeth “Beth” Redmon, 54, of Harrisonburg, and Tonita Lorice Smith, 39, of Charlottesville — both were found dead on Nov. 23 near each other in an open lot in the commercial district of Harrisonburg, police said.

Authorities allege that both women connected with the suspect, Anthony Robinson, 35, of Washington, D.C., through dating sites and met him on separate occasions at a hotel. Their bodies were found with blunt force trauma, and investigators believe they were transported to the scene in a shopping cart.

“After he inflicts trauma to his victims and kills them, he transports their bodies to their final resting place, literally in a shopping cart, and there’s video to that effect,” Davis said.

Robinson was arrested last month based on video surveillance and cellphone records that connected him to the two victims, according to Harrisonburg Police Chief Kelley Warner. He’s been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and two felony counts of concealing, transporting or altering a dead body.

More charges are forthcoming in connection with the deaths of two people found Wednesday in Alexandria near the Moon Inn, Fairfax County police said.

One victim is believed to be a missing woman from Washington, D.C. Police said cellular data placed Cheyenne Brown, 29, and Robinson at the same location on Sept. 30, the night of her disappearance.

Authorities are awaiting DNA confirmation, but believe the remains to be Brown’s based on a distinct tattoo positively identified by her family.

The remains of a second person found in a large plastic container along with Brown’s have yet to be identified, police said. A shopping cart also was found next to the container.

Robinson has a “remarkable absence” of any criminal history, Davis said. He’s being held without bond at the Rockingham-Harrisonburg Regional Jail and is scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 27. His attorney, Louis Nagy, declined to comment on the charges and latest allegations when contacted by ABC News.

Authorities said they’re coming forward with their findings because they believe there may be additional victims.

“We need to act right now with our law enforcement partners to figure out who else our killer has had contact with, and what’s his M.O. — dating sites, motels, blunt force trauma, shopping cart, final resting place,” Davis said. “He’s killed four already. And we suspect that he has more victims.”

Parents refuse to give up hope in search for missing 26-year-old daughter

December 17, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(DALLAS) — Mercedes Clement was last seen in surveillance video on Oct. 11, 2020, walking across the parking lot of the Koko Apartments in Dallas, Texas, with a man.

She hasn’t been seen or heard from again.

“In the beginning, it didn’t matter if it was a street lead or if it was an anonymous tip or if it was a psychic, we followed the lead,” said Clement’s mother, Alicia Gazotti.

She and her husband, Clement’s stepfather Emiliano Gazotti, have been searching for their 26-year-old daughter for a little over a year. They haven’t given up.

“Mercedes, she was just a gift. She was always saving her money for the homeless people, always just had this huge heart of gold, always,” said Alicia Gazotti.

On the night her daughter went missing, Gazotti said that around 10:30 p.m., Clement made some worrisome phone calls to friends.

“She called a couple of her friends and she told one girl in particular she was scared, she needed a ride to her car. Her friend said it was just eerily quiet,” said Gazotti. “And the phone disconnected and that was it. About the fourth day, when there’s no anything. Then I got worried.”

“The next day we got a piece of mail that her car had been towed and a lot of alarm bells went off for me then,” said Gazotti.

Gazotti said she went to the tow yard that same day to pick up the car, and she was alarmed to find most of her daughter’s belongings still inside.

“Her purse was in her car, her wallet was in her car, her car key was on the front seat, her bra was on the passenger seat,” said Gazotti. “We just knew something was wrong.”

In the following days, she said she tried to retrace her daughter’s steps and visited the Koko Apartment Complex where her daughter’s car had been towed from. She found crucial surveillance video she would later provide to the police.

On Oct. 26, 2020, Gazotti said she and her husband officially filed a missing persons report.

“Mercedes Clement’s case victimology, that’s very important in an investigation,” said Patty Belew, a homicide detective with the Dallas Police Department.

After nearly nine months, Belew was assigned ro Clement’s case after it was transferred from a missing persons case to homicide. She said the case was transferred because investigators suspect foul play.

“A missing persons is a warrant to locate and usually they’ll canvas a little bit and then that’s pretty much it and then they’ll move on. When it’s a homicide, then we’re out just constantly digging, trying to get information,” said Belew. “I believe that [what] we’re looking at is something has happened to her.”

During their investigation, detectives found that the surveillance camera, which captured the last time Clement was seen, had stopped recording the night of her disappearance for seven hours.

“The video we had, we’re told that it had a glitch in it. So it stopped recording, unfortunately,” said Belew.

According to Belew, she had asked the camera’s video company if glitches were normal and they said, “Not so much.”

Also in the surveillance video, detectives said they noticed the purse Clement is seen with while walking into the apartment complex is the same purse that was later found in her car.

“So either she brought it back or the people who took her put it in the car, and their intentions were to come back to the car, but the car was towed before they were able to do that,” said Belew.

The detectives with the Dallas Police Department said they are currently investigating multiple people of interest, including acquaintances from her past she knew when she was involved in drug use. They’ve also identified the man Clement was last seen with as 36-year-old Tanner Losson.

“We’ve tried to question him and he’s basically refused to speak with us,” said Belew.

Losson is currently in Dallas County Jail on unrelated charges. He did not respond to a request for comment.

“The guy that she was with, he’s not talking. He’s not talking to anybody. He maintains he doesn’t know anything,” said Gazotti.

Gazotti said she’s afraid her daughter’s case may run cold.

“I think that the media, police, missing persons units- there’s always a stigma around certain people, if they look a little different or if they’re living a different life,” said Gazzotti. “They don’t get treated with that same urgency or that same consideration or that same care.”

Of the 500,000 reported missing persons, almost half were people of color, according to the FBI.

The Dallas Police Department told ABC News that shining a spotlight on Mercedes Clement’s case could bring in tips they need to solve it and that if anyone has information about Mercedes Clement, they can call the North Texas Crime Commission at 1-877-373-TIPS.

Gazotti said she refuses to give up the search for her missing daughter.

“My daughter’s life mattered,” she said. “Everyone deserves to be found. Everybody deserves closure.”

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