17 Year Old Boy Appears In Court Charged With Murdering 67 Year Old Man He Met To Have Sex With, Parents Of Disabled Transgender Girl Seek Public Assistance In Locating Suspect In Baseball Attack On Daughter While Seattle Police Appear To Have Botched Investigation, James Franco Leaves Tennessee Williams Revival, Madonna’s Sex Most Sought After Out-Of-Print Book, Rupert Grint And Tom Felton For Band Of Outsiders, Prince Harry

A teenage boy has appeared in court charged with murdering a man after arranging to take part in a sexual act. David Cowley, 67, was found dead off Mareham Lane in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, in November 2010, according to the BBC. At Lincoln Crown Court the 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, denied murder, but admitted manslaughter, said the prosecution. A second 17-year-old has admitted handling stolen goods but has denied perverting the course of justice. The court heard the defendant met Mr Cowley, of Broadfield Lane in Boston, at Sleaford railway station and was then driven by him to a remote spot at Ballast Pits off Mareham Lane. Amjad Malik QC, the prosecuting attorney, told the jury that the victim was an openly gay man who had offered cash and mobile phone top-ups to the 17-year-old in exchange for a sexual liaison. He said Mr Cowley was dragged from his car and punched and kicked by the boy, who had planned to rob him of his vehicle and other possessions before killing him."He brought David Cowley face down compressing his neck, probably in an arm lock from behind," Mr Malik said. "When he was compressing Mr Cowley's neck he blocked his airway. David Cowley was asphyxiated within a very short period of time." The prosecutor said there was no evidence to suggest that Mr Cowley had managed to defend himself during the attack. The trial continues.

In Seattle, the parents of a Ballard girl are asking for justice after their daughter was brutally attacked with a baseball bat August 16, Fox-13 reporting that the parents of Tiva, the victim of the attack, believe she was beaten because she is transgendered. Inexplicably, the attack was reported to police, but the Seattle Police Department report had listed the case as inactive. Tiva, whose age has not been released, was assaulted by another girl in Ballard; the assault resulting in a serious head injury. Her parents say that their daughter is emotionally fragile since the attack. Tad and Cindy Anderson are now seeking the public's assistance in finding their daughter's attacker. "She has learning disabilities that can make it hard to interact with her, and she is transgender," Tiva’s parents wrote in an email to neighbours. "It probably should have been obvious to us a long time ago, but this turns out to be a dangerous combination. Transgender people are the most likely to be harassed and Tiva is particularly vulnerable due to her limited social skills," the email said. While the attack happened on August 16, Tiva did not go to the hospital until a few days later, according to the police report. "The on-duty nurse at [the hospital] stated to me that [she] sustained a subdural hematoma. The symptoms appear slowly and [are] fatal if not attended to. A portion of [her] skull was removed for treatment of the injury," the detective wrote in the police report, referring to Tiva."Tiva is very reluctant to talk about the incident to us," Tad Anderson said. "We have learned through others that the woman who attacked her was also harassing her for dressing in female clothing, saying, 'You should not be wearing those clothes'." What Tiva's parents know is that the attacker is a white female and they believe she may hang out around the skate park in Ballard. "The female came up alongside [of her] and told her, 'I don't want to see you around the skate bowl anymore'," the police report states. "The female then struck [her] on the right side of the head with the baseball bat." When police asked Tiva about the crime, she was "drifting in and out of sleep," the report stated. Tiva was questioned after having surgery in which part of her skull was removed to alleviate pressure from a subdural hematoma that was the result of her attack. Police spokesman Mark Jamieson said the case is not being investigated as a hate crime because Tiva did not tell police she was attacked because she is transgender, adding that he did not know if the police planned to interview Tiva again about the incident. When police were contacted on Monday, August 29, spokesman Sean Whitcomb said that the case was active and is under investigation. Whitcomb said the case is being investigated as a violent crime. If it is determined there was bias involved in the crime, it is then up to the prosecutor to determine if they want to add bias to any charges, which would then elevate the charge. Tiva's parents are asking the public for any information they may have about the crime, and to call the Seattle Police at 206- 625-5011 and reference case number 2011-273665. "Cindy and I are trying to assemble a team to help with her recovery," Tad Anderson said. "To keep her safe in the future, and, generally, to try to rebuild her self-confidence and trust in others.

James Franco is no longer linked to a planned Broadway revival of the Tennessee Williams drama Sweet Bird of Youth, Mr. Franco’s publicist said on Monday, and the production itself will not happen this fall as previously reported, according to the director attached to the project. The New York Times reports that Sweet Bird, a 1959 play about the gigolo and wannabe actor Chance Wayne and his companion, the Hollywood has-been Alexandra Del Lago, had been one of the most anticipated Broadway productions for the fall because of the names involved: Mr. Franco as Chance, the Academy Award-winner Nicole Kidman as Alexandra, and David Cromer as the production’s director (given his Off Broadway success with Our Town). In a telephone interview, Mr. Cromer said that the revival was still on the drawing board but he did not know when it might happen, if it would be part of the 2011-12 Broadway season. He said the lead producer of Sweet Bird, Scott Rudin, was focused on another major revival for the new Broadway season, Death of a Salesman, directed by Mike Nichols and starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Linda Emond and Andrew Garfield. Cromer recently directed another revival for Rudin, The House of Blue Leaves, which drew mixed reviews on Broadway last spring. Last September, plans for a fall 2011 Sweet Bird revival were announced with Kidman attached. On Monday, a spokesman for the production said he had nothing new to report. Kidman’s publicist did not reply to phone or email messages seeking comment. A publicist for Franco, Robin Baum, said in response to an inquiry that the actor was no longer involved with the project. The original Broadway production of Sweet Bird opened in March 1959 starring Geraldine Page as Alexandra and Paul Newman as Chance, and ran for 10 months. The play was turned into a film in 1962 with the two lead actors reprising their Broadway roles. The only revival of Sweet Bird on Broadway ran for about six weeks during the 1975-76 season and starred Irene Worth (who won a Tony Award for best actress) and Christopher Walken.

According to Bookfinder.com the most sought after used out-of-print book in 2011 was Madonna’s Sex, published in a sealed Mylar wrapper in 1992. Norman Mailer’s Marilyn: A Biography was eighth, while Cameron Crowe’s Fast Times at Ridgemont High was the sixteenth most sought after book.

Rupert Grint and Harry Potter castmate Tom Felton star in the Fall 2011 Band of Outsiders campaign.

Prince Harry on hand at the 2011 WellChild Awards in London, England.