Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page A1

4D 1C 3C 6D 2A 9A 10A 2D 1D 2A 3A 3D 4D-5D 1B INDEX CONTACT US Delivery questions: 800-395-3300 News tip hotline: 313-222-6600 Classified: 586-977-7500; 800-926-8237 $1.00 Vol. 181, Number 241 2011Detroit Free Press Printed in the U.S. DRY FINAL DAY TO VERY WET YEAR Then, snow to start off FORECAST, 2A 42 31 High Low DEAL 50 OFF TWO TICKETS TO THE BRIDAL CELEBRATIONS EXPO AT THE PALACE OF AUBURN HILLS DETAILS, 2A Two young mothers headed out for a night on the town Dec. 23. Natasha Curtis, who was turning 29 the next day, left with her friend Vernithea McCrary, 28, about 8 p.m., longtime boyfriend, Cortez Wingfield, told the Free Press.

Curtis had been looking forward to her birthday. (trying to) figure out what going to do. I have so so blessed to be Curtis posted on her Facebook page days earlier. Her birthday came and went with no word from Curtis. Wingfield, 25, said he knew something was wrong when he hear from his girlfriend of nine years.

On Sunday, the bodies of two women were found in the trunk of a car on east side, burned beyond recognition. McCrary was identified by the Wayne County Medical Office through dental records. Police have tentatively identified the other victim as Curtisbut were still waiting on official confirmation from the medical office Friday evening. Six days earlier, the bodies of two other women were found in the trunkof a car in the 14900 block of Promenade just a few blocks from where the second pair was found in the 14900 block night out on town ends in death Another woman as bodies in trunks leave loved ones reeling By Gina Damron, Tresa Baldas and Elisha Anderson Free Press Staff Writers Natasha Curtis, left, was tentatively identified as one of the bodies found in acar trunk Sunday. The medical examiner identified friend Vernithea McCrary.

See TRUNK, PAGE6A ISTOCK TIME TO RAISE YOUR GLASS STAYING IN What to watch on TV: Carson Daly hosts a two-hour NBC special, sandwiching local news, beginning at 10 p.m. The show is heavy on NBC personalities, with a comedy performance by Jimmy Fallon, a review of the year in music by NBC News anchor Brian Williams and performances by band, the Roots, and Cee Lo Green and Blake Shelton of Times Square studio is the site of that New Eve party beginning at 11p.m., with Demi Lovato and actor Tyler Posey as hosts. Lovato, Selena Gomez, Cole and Mac Miller are among the performers. BET presents its special at 11p.m. Two news networks also are marking the occasion with specials at 11p.m.

Fox News Bill Hemmer and Megyn Kelly will be live in Times Square, and the network will have performances from country artists Big Rich and Trace Adkins. On CNN Anderson Cooper and comedienne Kathy Griffin have developed their own strange kind of chemistryand will be back. 8 p.m. on ABC with Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest, pays tribute to its own history during a sprawling, nearly six-hour program. In all, 29 musical performances are planned.

Lady Gaga gets the prime slot in Times Square just before midnight. Justin Bieber, Pitbull, Hot Chelle Rae, Florence the Machine and are among the other featured performers. SPORTS, SPORTS AND MORE SPORTS If you like sports, no reason to get off the couch. Check out our guide to sports on TV: PAGE 1B Aslew of big-buzz movies hit the multiplexes over the past few weeks, including two family films from Steven Spielberg, the latest installment and the American adaptation of best-seller Girl with the Dragon See trailers and capsule reviews at freep.com. GOINGOUT Motor City New Eve The Drop, Detroit: Organizers are expecting to double last crowd of 5,000 as an 8-foot will drop at midnight at Campus Martius.

You can watch outside for free, or a $95 ticket (more at the door) will get you inside for a party with DJs, hors and cocktails. More information: 313-355-0413; www.motorcitynye Downtown party in Mt. Clemens: Fireworks will bring an explosive midnight conclusion to a family- friendly New Eve gala in downtown Mt. Clemens. The festival, which begins at 5 p.m., includes activities, karaoke and live music.

More information: 586-469-4168; www Acouple of top parties: New Eve at the Met Hotel, Troy: Includes a midnight balloon drop, a confetti storm and a live broadcast of the Times Square ball drop. 9 p.m.-4 a.m., 5500 Crooks, Troy. 248-879-2100. $100 and up. Cover includes 12 drink tickets.

Tickets: 248-227-5559 or www.neptix.com. Champagne Explosion, Dearborn: Five-room event at the Hyatt Regency Dearborn hotel features karaoke, stand-up comedy, illusionists, aerial acrobats, fortune tellers, DJsand live music. 9 p.m.-4 a.m., 600 Town Center Road, Dearborn. 313-982-1359. $109 and up.

Tickets: www MUCH MORE: There are dozens of nightlife, music, theater, comedy and other options in our guide at www.detroit.metromix.com. NEW EVE GUIDE This giant will be dropped tonight at Campus Martius. WILLIAM FREE PRESS Dick Clark: Tom Impossible: Ghost AT THE MOVIES Astarving pit bull and the fight to save it from being eutha- nized was the catalyst for a big donation this week for a small group of dog lovers to build first no-kill shelter. The gift from an anonymous California woman is the largest of its kind to Detroit Dog Rescue and perhaps to any small new organization in the area. The group was founded just nine months ago by a TV producer and a local hip-hop artist who were upset the city let them film a reality TV series on the stray dogs they then decided to save.

Los Angeles producer Monica Martino, co-founder of DDR, said 50,000 stray dogs was a story that needed to be told. people think hopeless, but I Martino said. One of the dogs was Ace, found in early November at a hardware store on McNichols and I-75. Detroit Animal Control took custody of the animal, and Fight to save an underdog led to gift goal: Sparestrays from fate By Megha Satyanarayana Free Press Staff Writer DANTE DOG RESCUE Detroit Dog Rescue co-founder Monica Martino comforts a stray dog on west side. The group later found its owner.

See SHELTER, PAGE6A The Michigan Supreme Court has ordered a judge to return the estate of civil rights icon Rosa Parks to her longtime friend Elaine Steele and the institute the two women founded in 1987 to carry on legacy. In a tersely worded order Thursday, the high court said Wayne County Probate Judge Freddie Burton Jr. and the Michigan Court of Appeals wrongly stripped Steele and the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development of their financial stake in estate. The Supreme Court said Steven Cohen, the lawyer for Steele and the institute, did not divulge details of a 2007 confidentiality agreement that resolved an estate dispute involving the institute, Steele and 13 nieces and nephews. Parks estate returning to her friend, institute Order honors wishes of civil rights icon By David Ashenfelter Free Press Staff Writer After Detroiter Rosa Parks died in 2005, her nieces and nephews challenged the civil rights will and trust.

See PARKS, PAGE6A Sports Robinson expects to stick around for senior year 6B 2011TIES WETTEST YEAR EVER NEW SOUTHEAST MICH. RECORD not your imagination. This has been one soggy year. On Friday, southeast Michigan tied all-time record for the wettest year with 47.69 inches of precipitation. ONGUARDFOR180YEARS Saturday 12.31.2011www.freep.com METRO, 3A.