Casper Star-Tribune from Casper, Wyoming • 3

star Casper Area Saturday, April 26, 1988 Star-Tribune, Casper, Wyo A3 Youth won't stand trial for stabbing death of his father Evans says 16-year-old boy acted in self-defense after dad broke his nose in 'unprovoked attack' a tmW I ItuiiTiilf If rl II fc EZ23 I "There was a prolonged struggle before the son retreated into the kitchen," Evans said. He then pulled a butcher knife from a kitchen rack. "Two to three wounds on (the father's) arms were consistent with the boy's story he was trying to fend (the father) off," Evans said. Laird said that after stabbing his father, the boy his nose bleeding profusely ran from the kitchen and locked himself in a bathroom. "A deputy said they found so much blood in the bathroom that at first, they thought the stabbing happened there," Laird said.

Evans said that since the youth was arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder, his office has analyzed the boy's emergency room treatment records, physical evidence taken from the crime scene, autopsy reports, and Juvenile Probation and Parole reports of the Beale family. "The son's initial claim of self-defense is consistent with his mother's statements of self-defense," Evans said. "He retreated as far as he could after a severe beating by his father. He was originally taken into custody because of the seriousness of the possible offense." The youth was released to his mother's custody shortly after he returned from a court-ordered mental evaluation at the Wyoming State Hospital. He has been attending school, awaiting the outcome of possible charges against him.

Laird said Friday that he called NCHS moments after learning of Evans decision to not prosecute. "Teachers were very excited and crying," Laird said. drop the matter. "We didn't have any statements (from the boy or his mother) that it was a direct attack on the man's back," Evans said. The boy picked up the knife only after his father hit him hard enough to break his nose and bruise the boy's torso, Evans said.

Dallas Laird, the youth's defense lawyer, said, "The father had a hold of the boy and he grabbed the knife to scare the father. The boy's face was so full of blood (from his broken nose) that he couldn't see. He didn't know where he was stabbing him." Prosecutors and sheriff's deputies pieced together the events of Jan. 11 by interviewing the boy and his mother. The woman told deputies she didn't witness the actual stabbing but saw much of the stuggle which ranged throughout the family's split level home.

She also watched her husband stagger out of the kitchen after he was stabbed and collapse on a stair landing, according to deputies. Evans said the stabbing was sparked by an "unprovoked attack by the father, an attack in which the father stated, 'I'm going to kill Beale came home from his Bureau of Land Management job shortly before the 11:29 p.m stabbing. Law enforcement officials said that Beale was a heavy drinker and was extremely intoxicated the night of the slaying. His blood alchohol tested at .28 percent, a level which would render most people unconscious. The boy was watching television in a bedroom when Beale burst into the room and began beating him, according to sheriff's reports.

By GREG LIVOVICH Star-Tribune staff writer CASPER A 16-year-old boy who stabbed his father to death Feb. 10 acted in self-defense and has been cleared of all wrongdoing, Natrona County District Attorney Scott Evans said Friday. The Natrona County High School student who was being beaten by his father Melvin Beale when he grabbed a kitchen knife to defend himself is "a very normal kid" who was caught in an environment of "family stress and violence," Evans said. The boy faced a potential second-degree homicide charge for knifing his father seven times as the two struggled in the kitchen of the family's suburban Casper home. Beale, 45, died in the Memorial Hospital of Natrona County emergency room.

Evans said Beale lost so much blood from wounds on his chest and arms that an autopsy could not determine which of six frontal wounds he suffered caused his death. A "superficial" wound on the elder Beale's back was not enough to convince prosecutors and law enforcement officials that the boy continued stabbing after his father was retreating or had become helpless. Some officials speculated shortly after the investigation began that the back wound might cast doubt on the boy's claim of self defense. A secret May 19 court hearing Wyoming law prohibits officials from publicly disclosing details of juvenile proceedings had been scheduled to determine if homicide charges would be heard in adult court, according to souces. But Evans said he decided Thursday that his office would Post won't '-4 -V SCIDKF -i run for council again Star-TribuneBill Willcox Crest Hill Elementary School secretary Delia Kuiva gets back to work Friday as Secretaries' Week draws to a close.

Busy week Brown to manage Sullivan's campaign r. A there is a possibility for a new face "here and there." Brown will be in charge of scheduling and media relations for Sullivan's campaign, according to a prepared statement by Sullivan. Brown said the decision to leave the station, which he termed a "class act," was a difficult one. "But I'm ready for a challenege," he said. "And I think Mike Sullivan will make a fine governor.

KN Energy CASPER KTWO-TV News Director Charles Brown will manage Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mike Sullivan's campaign starting May 3. Brown, who has worked for KTWO since 1977, is the second member of the station's news team to announce his resignation this month. Anchor Bob Nellis gave his notice last week. Brown said he has no experience in the political arena, but said he hopes any "mistakes" he might make would occur early in the KEN POST 'It's taken too much time' joins Wyoming, Casper proposal that would increase local man's input' to city government. He was named council vice president traditional steppingstone to the mayor's post in 1984 after Councilman Mary Behrens replaced Joe Corrigan as mayor.

Post has maintained that the ceremonial job was one "I hadn't really sought." He has since pledged to help steer the city through an expected 1986-87 fiscal crunch. Post's announcement guarantees there will be two newcomers on the council in 1987. Behrens whose term ends Dec. 31 has declared her intention to run for the state House of Representatives on the Republican ticket. Councilman Richard Shamley holds the only other council seat that expires this year.

He could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon. to oppose gas prices The council gave city staff the discretion to retain Lieberman to lodge Casper's protest. Bui because the PSC plans to enier testimony arguing againsi the MinneGasCo proposal, City Manager Wes McAllister said Lieberman's services are not needed, saving the city $14,000 in consulting fees. Casper will co-sponsor the PSC protest, McAllister said. Other energy companies use the zone system, but Ward said those zones would not be affected should FERC abolish the KN HARLAN HANSEN Joining forces with Casper I i CASPER Citing personal financial reasons, Casper Mayor Ken Post said Friday he will not seek another term on the City Council.

"It has taken too much time" to serve as mayor, Post said. Even during the first three years of his term, the job of councilman "took more time than I felt I could give to it." The 55-year-old former firefighter said he plans to serve out the remainder of his term, which expires Dec. 31. After that, "I'll get up to my elbows in sawdust" in his cabinet-making business, he said. The mayor said he needs to spend more time on the job and less in City Hall.

Post campaigned for the council in 1982 pledging to bring fiscal conservatism and "the working sumers. KN asked FERC last fall for a $5.7 million rate hike to cover increasing transportation costs. The case is still under review with no decision date set, Hansen said. Abolishing the zones would shift nearly $1.5 million of the rate increase to zone one customers, Hansen said. Beyond that 'amount, hard dollar figures are hard to come by in the early stages of MinneGasCo's action.

Hansen and Ward said they do not know how KN has proposed splitting the $5.7 million rate hike between the two zones. Hansen could not provide the yearly difference between zone one and zone two payments to KN. State Public Service Commission Administrative Secretary Alex Eliopulos said PSC staffers are "working heavy" to evaluate the effects of the MinneGasCo proposal, but said figures are not available. MinneGasCo officials could not be reached for comment Friday. The action caught Casper officials by surprise, as the City Council met in a special session Friday to authorize Lieberman to protest the MinneGasCo proposal to FERC.

City officials said Lieberman wanted a council decision by Friday to give him time to prepare testimony before the May 5 FERC protest deadline. campaigning, while there is time to correct them. Sullivan also is without political experience. With Brown's and Nellis' resignations, KTWO is left with two open anchor positions for its 5:30 and 10 p.m. news programs.

Station general manager Bob Price said announcements will be made "over the next week or so" on replacements for those positions. Price said the station will "probably" promote from within its ranks for those slots, but that ft ized Thursday by thieves who took 32 cassette tapes from the vehicle while the owner was working in the restaurant. Restaurant employee Tom Crawford told police the tapes were taken sometime between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. There was no indication of forced entry into the vehicle and there are no suspects, according to police reports.

Late-night shooting apparently accidental CASPER A 28-year-old Casper man, wounded Tuesday night in a shooting incident police say "appears to be accidental," was listed in satisfactory condition at Memorial Hospital of Natrona County, according to an MHNC spokesman. Michael J. Brittingham apparently shot himself in the lower left leg while holding a pistol, Casper police Cmdr. Mike Colling said. Brittingham was sitting in the passenger seat of a car when the shooting occurred, according to Colling.

Hospital personnel told police at 10:54 p.m. that a shooting victim had just been admitted to the emergency room, according to a police report. Police believe Brittingham and a friend were driving in the downtown area when the gun discharged, Colling said. tSADD to hold first rally in Wyoming I LARAMIE (AP) The found-t er of a student group designed to discourage drinking and driving among teen-agers will speak during the group's first Wyoming rally. 5 Robert Anastas, founder of Students Against Drunk Driving, is to be the keynote speaker for SADD's first rally at the University of Wyoming on Saturday.

'J "We are encouraging all Wyo- ming students to come and I parents too," said Don Pruter, a 'rally organizer. "Parental in-volvement is an important ingre-i dient, and several of our workshops are actually for adults." 5 The workshops during the rally at the university's arena- auditorium will "cover 18 topics i dealing with SADD's goals of eliminating drunk drivers, alerting to the dangers of drinking and driving, conductng community alcohol awareness programs and I organizing counseling programs to help students who may, have con-'? cerns about alcohol. Cassette tapes fly the coop CASPER A pickup truck 'i parked at the CY Avenue Kentucky Tried Chicken outlet was burglar eastern Nebraska towns with gas purchased from KN, wants to end KN's "zone system" that charges MinneGasCo more for gas than KN charges to Northern Utilities Inc. NUI supplies Casper retailer Northern Utilities Division. KN's zone two which includes Lincoln and other cities historically has paid more for KN gas than zone one because it is farther from the gas wells, meaning higher transportation costs, Casper gas consultant Al Ward said.

Zone 1 serves NUI and wholesalers in Kansas, southern Nebraska and Sterling, KN spokesman Harlan Hansen said. MinneGasCo has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to do away with KN's zones and spread transportation costs evenly across the KN system, Ward said. "That would, in effect, increase gas costs to NUI," he said. A letter drafted by Washington, D.C., lawyer Marvin Lieberman for Mayor Ken Post's signature, says MinneGasCo's request, if approved, would add about SI. 5 million per year to the cost of KN gas for customers formerly under zone one.

Casper retailer Norther Utilities Division buys about one-half of its gas from NUI, so any cost increase to NUI would be diluted before being passed on to Casper con By JEFF THOMAS Star-Tribune staff writer CASPER The city, state and KN Energy Inc. have joined forces to oppose a proposal by a Minneapolis natural-gas wholesaler to shift a major portion of KN's gas costs to customers in Wyoming and elsewhere. The shift could mean Casper gas consumers will have to pay an extra $350,000 a year, according to the city's gas consultant. MinneGasCo, which supplies Lincoln, and several other AL WARD Casper's natural-gas consultant.