ashley white sentencing hearing is scheduled for may 16. there were several family members in the court room today, but they said they did not want to go on camera either. live in pulaski bethany teague wsls 10. turning now to your forecast ... it was another brutally cold day ... with snow showers throughout the area. storm team ten chief meteorologist jeff haniewich joins us now. jeff ... a clipper system brought us more snow showers into the mountains, even with a few making it farther east energy will move away from us later tonight, but through the evening we will still have the chance for some snow showers. a coating -2" is possible in the nrv and highlands even perhaps into the higher elevations of the roanoke valley, with a dusting possible in spots farther east. it was cold outside on friday, but at least the winds were not all that strong. however, they strengthen big-time tonight. a wind chill advisory is in from nelson, amherst, bedford, franklin, and patrick counties and points west from 11:00pm tonight through sunday at 10:00a

he said when ashley white went to sleep that morning when she got back home... even though she was still in the home with her kids, she should have known that they would be in danger while she slept. commonwealth attorney mike fleenor did not want to go on camera, but he did speak briefly verdict. he said, quote -- "i believe ashley white received a fair trial and that justice was served. something caused noah to fall into the septic tank. there is no evidence that ashley white deliberately killed noah, but her lack of supervision certainly caused his death." now when asked about parents who may be concerned that if they fall asleep while their kids are in the home and that they could be charged with a crime, fleenor said that "the home was so atrocious, and the septic tank was such an obvious danger, that she had to be held accountable. it wasn't just that she laid down to take a nap." ashley white sentencing hearing is may 16. some of her family members were court today. they said they did not want to go on camera. ashley white did appear quite emotional throu

as day one of the trial against ashley white unfolds. the latest in the child abuse and neglect case out of pulaski county. rene cox/prevention specialist nrvcc - "we want to reduce risk for children." and ... a local school steps up efforts to keep kids informed about drug abuse. why school leaders say there's a need. plus ... teachers from all over the commonwealth converge on hotel roanoke for the annual convention. the skills they're learning. good evening, and thanks for i'm lindsey ward. and i'm dawn jefferies. we're following a developing tonight where a massive fire is still burning at the dan river plant. town manager russell thurston ... who we spoke to during our 6 o-clock news cast ... says it started a little after three this pictures... they show heavy smoke and flames. thurston says a recycling plant has been in the process of tearing down the former textile building for the last six months. v-dot says drivers can expect delays around earl street. all north and south through lanes are closed on route 501. we have a crew he

ashley white and paul thomas.. both face class six felonies of child abuse and neglect-- after they left noah and another child at home while white drove thomas to work. white originally faced a felony homicide charge-- but that was dropped in august. stephen spence/ pulaski county resident :35-:40 8:18:28 my heart went out to the developing. inside my heart i didn't know whether or not the parents are guilty and i don't have it in my heart to blame someone until the facts are proven. paul thomas is also charged with felony child abuse and neglect. his one-day bench trial is set for next month. ashley white's trial is expected to take up to five days. class six felonies are punishable by a minimum of one year.. and up to five years for each charge. eb, wsls 10. tonight... virginia tech... and the blacksburg community will remember 13-year old nicole lovell. tonight's vigil includes guest speakers... hymns... and a candlelight vigil. the middle schooler went missing from her family home late last month. her body was

we're continuing to follow the trial of ashley white.. the mother of a five year old who went missing nearly a year ago. after an extensive five day search in pulaski county, the boy-- noah thomas, was found in a septic tank on his family's property. investigators say he drowned.. with hypothermia contributing to his death. the trial against his mother started yesterday.. and is expected to last all week.. w-s-l-s 10's erin brookshier has more on what we can expect today in court. # this morning a jury is expected and neglect case against ashley white. she faces three charges in connection to the death of her son, noah thomas. today-- seven more jurors must be selected for the trial to begin. this comes after jury selection started yesterday morning in the pulaski courtroom. lawyers worked throughout the day... and ended up with fifteen potential jurors. about half of the people what were called in for jury duty were sent home. many stated they had already made up their minds.. and believed white was guilty. others say white must prove to

still no finalized jury for ashley white. this process is already taking longer than expected, as the prosecution had plans to begin presenting its case against white this afternoon. when i stepped out of court moments ago, 64 potential jurors had been brought up total between yesterday and today. 40 have been sent away. there were a number of reasons for those disqualifications, such as having relatives or friends connected to the case. but the predominant reason, which accounts for roughly half of the dismissals, was that the potential jurors already believed that ashley white is guilty or responsible on some level for noah thomas's death. white's defense team did ask for a change of venue weeks ago, because it felt that seating an impossible. the judge indicated he would rule on that after trying to seat a jury. he did say that even if the jury is finalized, he would take into account how difficult it was to find impartial members. john, lindsey...? bethany, you mentioned this jury selection process is taking longer than e

ashley white will be sentenced may 16th. in pulaski, justin ward, wdbj7 in the last 90- minutes, we've learned a rocky mount pharmacy suspect is in custody. police say joshua cundiff turned himself in tonight. armed robbery at family pharmacy tuesday night. no one is hurt after a fire at salem frame company tonight. crews responded to the scene on industrial drive just after 7:30. firefighters put the flames out quickly, but say it took hours to remove smoke from the building. investigators say the building was damaged by smoke. the deaths of two glendale arizona teens is being called a murder-suicide. the two girls were found at a high school earlier today. police say a suicide note was found at the scene. authorities say both victims were shot once and a gun was found near the bodies. it's unclear what relationship the two had. witness: "a man he came in and started beating up on another man i thought it was a personal thing he just started down the row hitting everybody, people were bleeding." a man was shot and killed by

ashley white. six personally knew noah.. or had helped search for him last year. and eight felt that white should be charged with murder.. not just child abuse.. or that she should be required to prove her innocence. however.. after this decision.. the prosecution asked for a bench trial rather than a jury trial elsewhere. in a move that surprised some.. the defense agreed to this. we spoke to a criminal justice expert at radford university who says judge finch's decision to change the venue could have influenced the defense's choice to let him decide white's fate. jack call, radford university 1:08- 1:11 "one of the reasons the defense might be willing to attorney perceives judge finch as a very fair-minded person. if she had a different judge, she might not perceive it that way and may not be willing to give up the jury right." white's bench trial will start tomorrow morning at nine. in the nrv newsroom bethany teague wsls 10. noah's father... paul thomas... also faces charges stemming from his death. thomas is expected back in court march 9-th. roanoke police i

a change of venue request is granted for ashley white. white is charged with child abuse and neglect in connection to the death of her son -- noah thomas. noah... was found dead in a wsls 10's bethany teague was in the courtroom all day into late this evening... and has more on what's next in this case. a pulaski county judge grants the change of venue request for ashley white, but her trial will still happen in pulaski county. vo after an hour and a half of consideration, judge bradley finch decided there was too much prejudice in pulaski county to give white a fair trial. he said 60 percent of the potential jurors were disqualified, and that is quote an extremely large percentage for any jury trial. then, the prosecution immediately withdrew its request for a jury trial, which it made last year, and requested a bench trial. the defense ultimately agreed with that. at just after 8:30 tuesday night, it was determined that judge finch will decide the bench trial will begin thursday morning at 9 o'clock. the prosecution says it believes fac

ashley white's.. trial. that emotion from the community.. caused judge bradley finch to make a rare decision. jack call, radford university - :26-:29 saying the same kind of thing, he decided that he wasn't going to be able to get 12 impartial jurors in pulaski county." finch granted the change of venue request from the defense.. something attorneys say has only happened in pulaski county twice in the last 50 years. roughly 60 percent of the potential jurors questioned were disqualified. finch said after hearing comments from jurors like "we've all heard about it" and "this case is common knowledge" .. he felt a jury trial should happen elsewhere. but just moments later.. the prosecution withdrew its request for a jury trial.. and asked for a bench trial. that means judge finch would decide white's fate rather than a jury. the defense agreed with that proposal. criminal justice expert jack call says he is surprised the defense said yes. jack call, radford university - when there is a jury, all the defense has to do is convince one juror that

ashley white was charged following the death of her 5- year-old son last march. investigators found him dead in a septic tank. wsls 10's bethany teague explains how the judge reached his verdict. ashley white has been found guilty on all three counts of felony child abuse and neglect. those charges carry a total of 20 years in prison. the

a judge has found ashley white guilty on all three charged on felony child abuse and neglect in the death of her son noah thomas. wsls 10's bethany teague was inside the courtroom as the judge read the verdict. bethany ... how did he reach this decision? this evening ... we're in for this evening ... we're in for some dangerously cold >>> so what happens next? when will we know what her fate is. >> they have ordered a so there's no sentence for ashley white but they have squadded it for may 16 at 1:00. she will have a presentence report with the sense inning -- sentencing guidelines, so we should know in may. >> interesting new developments still coming out today. >> got another big story. that's the dangerously cold temperatures we'll be looking at. the wind chill advisories will be kicking in. >> that, combined with scattered snow showers, even a bigger system headed our way. >> right now this is a live look at conditions off of i-64 in covington where the snow has been falling, what jeff call as clipper system coming through. jeff, what can you tell us? >> we're going to be very cold a

ashley white awaits sentencing. this after a judge found her guilty on all three counts of child abuse and neglect. white was charged following the death of her five year old son last march. investigators found him dead in a septic tank. ashley white is schedule to be sentenced on may 16-th. this information just in to our news room - virginia tech has just issued a crime alert for an attempted robbery on campus. it happened just after midnight last night in the dietrick parking lot. police tell us a man was attacked by a man who was armed with a knife. the man tried to steal the victims wallet, then ran away. we will have more details on our website wsls dot com. we speak on this saturday. with the winds cranked up as well wind chills will be held in the in the single digits all day long. winds begin to relax tonight, but actual virginia today. >>> good morning. life threatening cold. polar vortex delivering bone-chilling temperatures from minnesota to the northeast. record setting cold pushing the mercury to near

ashley white is guilty. white is the mother of noah thomas who was found dead in a septic tank last march after judge bradley finch count white guilty on three counts of felony child abuse and neglect. he said that white's own testimony at times was not credible. and he also found the conditions that the children were raised in to be deplorable. >>> police say there'll now be significantly less drug activity in the streets of martinsville. they arrested 14 mid--upper level drug dealers in that area and they say that they'll arrest more. so far the 14 arrested have a total of 51 charges and 86 indictments. >> we decided rather than doing a 2-year investigation that we would do a 4, 5 month investigation, make an arrest. and do a good job of sending the message to the drug dealers in our community that we're serious. switched their approach after learning that drug dealing is the community's number one concern. >>> shootings could happen anywhere. where we work, go to church, and school. the bedford county she

jury selection continues in the trial against ashley white. why the process is taking longer than expected. plus ... a pittsylvania county woman accused of murder appears in court. the plea she entered. and ... primaries in new hampshire are officially closed. our chief national correspondent is at a polling location and has more on today's turnout. good evening, and thanks for joining us for wsls 10 at seven. i'm lindsey ward. we're not worried about snow right now... but we are in store for cold temperatures. storm team ten chief meteorologist jeff haniewich joins us now. jeff ... it was pretty chilly today ... and its only going to get colder ... well, it was another cold day across the region with temperatures mainly in the 20s and 30s. the winds picked up as expected too. we continued to see some mountain flurries/light snow showers, with a little more sun farther east. the pattern does not look to change a whole lot through wednesday. tonight: mostly cloudy with light mountain snow showers still possible, blustery with lows in the lower

ashley white was present in court all day for the second day of her trial. her son ... noah thomas ... was found dead in a septic tank back in march. wsls 10's bethany teague joins us live outside the pulaski county courthouse. bethany, the first two days have been spent entirely on jury selection. have they finalized the jurors yet? not yet, although it seems we are closer than we were at 5 o'clock. they have narrowed it down to a poole of 25 potential jurors. that means they will no longer be bringing in groups of three been doing for the past two days. the remaining jurors who were not called have been sent home. now, the task is to narrow down the group of 25 to 12 jurors and two alternates. when i stepped out of the court room moments ago, it was in recess. all parties were waiting for the judge to come back and announce whether they would finish the selection tonight, or wait until tomorrow morning. a total of 42 potential jurors were disqualified during the selection process, largely because many of them had already formed opinions about ashley white's guilt. des

ashley white has been found guilty on all three charges of felony child abuse and neglect. virginia tech researchers find a and incarceration. plus... hundreds of teachers are headed home.. after learning new skills. wsls ten's jenna zibton explains in tonight's education matters. jenna having a parent in jail can have long term effects. new research shows it can virginia tech and university of toronto researchers say men who grew up with a family member in jail or prison are about twice as likely to have a heart attack after the age of 50. vo the researchers say there is no impact of jail time for women. they said boys appear to be particularly sensitive to adverse childhood experiences. more research needs to be done about the role of how stress plays a factor--- the flight or fight hormone of cortisol. cortisol has been linked to cardiovascular disease in other studies. jenna teachers from our area.... and across the commonwealth are out of school today.. spent their second and final day at the hotel roanoke for the virginia children's engineering convention. vo nearly e

ashley white's son, noah thomas, back in march. wsls 10's bethany teague joins us live outside the pulaski county courthouse. no, we do not have a jury yet. however, court is in recess until tomorrow morning. there was talk about going as long into tonight as it took to seat a final jury. as of just a few moments ago, 15 jurors have been selected. tomorrow morning, an additional seven will be selected as well. that makes a total of 22. however, both the defense and prosecution will then get four strikes each. that will bring the jury down to 12 members and two alternates. the lawyers have been working since before 11 o'clock this morning just to get the 15 that they have so far. around 50% of the potential jurors were sent home. many stated that they had already made up their minds that ashley white was guilty. others said that white must prove to them that she is innocent, rather than the prosecution proving that she is guilty, as the law states it must be. the remainder of the jury morning. the commonwealth's witnesses have been

white's trailer when they entered. she said two of the fbi team members had to wear masks as they searched the home. live in pulaski bethany teague wsls 10. state police are searching for an they say he lead them on a chase which put four people in the hospital. the chase started last night on route 2- 20 in boones mill. state police say ... the driver refused to stop for troopers and eventually lost control... crashed... and caught fire. all four of the car's passengers were taken to the hospital. now... police k-9s and the state's aviation team are searching for the driver... who took off on foot. the 15-year old is believed to be armed with a small handgun. threat to the public. a south boston woman is believed to be in danger after she disappeared more than two months ago. south boston police are searching for angela owen. officers say owen was last seen in november ... but wasn't reported missing until last week. she's believed to be endangered partially due to the fact that she takes medication for multiple healt

tomorrow a judge will decide the fate of ashley white. the mother of 5- year old noah thomas is charged with child abuse and neglect after he was found in a septic tank last year. last night the judge decided white would not receive a fair trial in pulaski county from jurors. both sides agreed to a bench trial which starts tomorrow at 9 a-m. # we're learning new details in the murder investigation of nicole lovell. a friend of the 13-year-old tells the washington post that nicole claimed virginia tech student david eisenhauer was her boyfriend. she added that nicole talked of running away and starting a family with the man who is facing charges in connection to her death. nicoles father will share his media activity today on the dr phil show. it starts at 4 p-m right here on wsls. south carolina and nevada are next on the presidential primary list. last night in new hampshire .. democrat hillary clinton lost to bernie sanders. while donald trump won most of the republican vote, with john kasich coming in a distant second. # wednesday: sno

the judge granted ashley white a change of venue ... after a jury couldn't be seated. white's son .. noah thomas .. was found dead in a septic tank last march. wsls 10's bethany teague breaks down this means for the case. pulaski county circuit court judge bradley finch granted the change of venue motion for ashley white.. something that has only happened in pulaski county twice in 50 years. out of 66 potential jurors.. 41 were disqualified. finch explained that 20 jurors had fixed opinions already.. or knew they couldn't be impartial. 11 had been active on social media regarding the case. six personally knew noah.. or had helped search for him last year. eight felt that white should be charged with murder.. not just child abuse.. or that she should be required to prove her innocence. however.. after this decision.. the prosecution asked for a rather than a jury trial elsewhere. in a move that surprised some.. the defense agreed to this. we spoke to a criminal justice expert at radford university who says judge finch's initial decision to change the venue could have in

. >>> we will want to go live to pulaski county where a judge has made a verdict in the ashley white case. we have just learned that a judge found white guilty on all three charges of felony child abuse and neglect. she was charged in connection with the death of her son dead in a septic tank last march. we are awaiting that live shot and will bring you more as we get it. >>> bruises and cuts. more with the latest on the recall of a high chair hurting kids. >>> we are watching the thermometer and the full possibility of snow in the >>> the intelligence of theaward-winning coverage you can count on. >> mark: well, if we didn't have enough cold weather, get ready for some more. >> danner: some snow ahead. >> will: some cold, some snow. i am not the most popular person in the newsroom dan w dan we did not put away our boots yet. you will need a heavy coat for the weekend. hope you didn't put them away this weekend. >> danner: gotten all my winter gear out. >> will: always out. that's good. the sky tower cram where they did see flurries in pulaski county. go right around there and you ca

the bench trial for ashley white is underway. white is charged with three counts of child abuse and neglect. her son, noah thomas, was found dead in a septic tank back in march. wsls 10's bethany teague was in court today .. as both sides gave opening statements and the prosecution began presenting it's evidence. she joins us live outside the pulaski county courthouse. bethany, what was ashley there are several points today one point she essentially broke down during testimony. that was when her neighbor and the stand. own." he said noah was just learning how to play basketball and everyone how much he had learned. meadows described noah as a boy who loved to be outdoors, and that "i must have put the chain on his bicycle 100 times." meadows said noah was alone most of the time when he played outside. the defense questioned the landlord on why the family's septic tank was not maintained and secured up to standard. the prosecution said while questioning a different witness that it intends to present evidence later on in the case t

the judge decided ashley white's fate just moments ago. why he says she neglected her children. two weather punches this weekend. bitter cold follow by significant snow. happening now - washington and lee university's 26th mock convention is underway hear about big politicians that are making a stop here before students make their big prediction. we are your hometown news leader, wdbj7. i'm jean jadhon. our top story at 6 - a pulaski county judge finds ashley white guilty of all three charges of child abuse and neglect of her son noah thomas and her infant daughter. noah was found dead in a septic tank in march afer a weeklong search. white willl remain in jail until her sentencing. wdbj7's justin ward has covered this story since last year. what was the judge's reasoning behind his decision? said this was a disaster waiting to happen. he said the combination of having, what he called, a filthy home in deplorable condition, and leaving a sick baby at home while she took her boyfriend to work wasn't evidence in her favor. white's lack of urgency on march 22nd before she reported

and ashley white need to be held accountable for her actionheld accountable for her actions. her sentencing date is set for some time in may. suri crowe, abc 13 news. >>> right now, danville police are searching for whoever shot two people overnight in a car. this happened around 2:15 this morning at the intersection of first street and abbott. the victims tell police that someone shot them while they were driving throughout intersection. police say that 21 and 22-year-old victims suffered nonlife-threatening injuries. both were taken to danville regional medical center. >>> they are standing in solidarity with their fallen brothers and sisters. deputies in bedford county are now wearing blue ribbons. this comes in response to the death of seven sheriff deputydeath of seven sheriff deputies around the country this week alone. one incident took place in maryland where two deputymaryland where two deputies were shot and killed at a panera restaurant. >> been in this business 50 years and this is probably one of the worst weeks that i have ever encountered with police officers b

ashley white took the stand in her own defense. the heart of the prosecution's case is the mother of two young children knowingly and intentionally left them in danger the morning noah went missing when white admitted to leaving the children alone when she took their father paul thomas to work. she initially lied to investigators when they told them she took the kids with her. white told the court she lied because they wanted investigators to look for noah and knew they would focus on she told the court she had seen noah standing on top of the septic tank lid a month or two before she disappeared but she, quote, never thought for one second, and then she began crying. the defense argued while she made bad parenting decisions her acts were not willful in the intent to put harm on her children. the defense said the easy access to that septic tank lid that was not childproof. suri crowe in court right now and we will bring that you verdict as soon as it is announced. >>> new booking video released of 18-year-old david eisenhauerof 18-

for the trial against ashley white. and... storm team 10 is closely monitoring a storm system impacting our region tonight. good evening, and thanks for joining us for wsls 10 at eleven. i'm john carlin. and i'm lindsey ward. snow continues to fall across expected to continue to fall on and off over the next few days. with several areas under storm advisories tonight... we want to head right back over to storm team 10 chief meteorologist jeff haniewich. jeff-- with this storm system making its system started to impact the region on monday, bringing some scattered rain and snow showers. as we turn colder tonight, any snow showers. that said, tonight, the precipitation pretty isolated in nature, with perhaps more ramping up again tomorrow in the mountains. tonight: mostly cloudy with snow showers possible, especially in the mountains. pretty cold with lows in the upper 20s. tuesday: mainly cloudy with snow showers possible, mainly in the mountains. chilly and breezy with highs in the upper 30s. we may still have the chance for s

this morning, 31-year-old ashley white entered a plea of not guilty in three felony charges of child abuse and neglect. then began the long process of jury selection. the defense attorneys and prosecutors question the potential jury pool over the media exposure of the case over whether potential jurors have formed an opinion on guilt or innocence and tipped their hat what kind of testimony we will the presence of marijuana, and folks from social services will be testifying in the case. white sat expressionless you next to her attorneys. her aunts and family members were also in attendance. 15 of 22 potential jurors have been selected. once 22 are chosen, both sides will get what are called discretionary strikes, and a total number of 14 jurors will be seated. that will include the 12-person jury panel plus two alternate jurors, and we will be there and continue to keep you updated on this case, but for now, live in pulaski county, suri crowe, abc 13 news. >> noreen: thanks, suri. >>> a former consignment owner is facing sentenceis facing sentencing in lynchburg after pleatlynchburg a

. >>> seems to be a struggle seating a jury in the ashley white case in pulaski county. jury selection is going on right now after starting a process yesterday morning. the 31-year-old is charged with abuse and neglect in her 5-year-old son noah thomas's death last march. it has been an arduous back and forth between prosecutors and defense council all day long as they went through jury selection and seem to be brewing a close. at issue is the defense's allegation that it is impossible white's public defenderwhite's public defender has been able to strike more than several people from the jury pool based on their connection to white's family and their admissions that they had formed opinions about ashley white and or had ties to noah thomas himself. meanwhile, prosecutors have been frustrated with the process to see the a jury, but judge bradley finch just now he is moving in an abundance of caution to make sure that white receives a fair trial. he has granted the majority of the defense's motion. they have right now settled on 25 suitable jurors. we will continue to bri

. >>> the bench trial for ashley white took place in pulaski county. she is charged with neglect when her 5-year-old son noah thomas was found dead in a septic tank. suri crowe is live and has moresuri crowe is live and has more. suri. >> reporter: well, mark, prosecutors say they say it is an unsafe environment for 5-year-old noah and. the dhurt white admitted she had lied about leaving her children at home this sunday morning and reported noah missing. there was much discussion about testimony about the septic tank and the lid with several witnesses who were investigators say was over the tank when they went to look for noah that day. probably some of the most compelling testimony of the day came from white's neighbor, and owner of the property and a trailer where ashleywhite and her family lived in. that man's name is gary meadows. says noah looked like a grandsays noah looked like a grandson to him. recall placerecall placing a chain on noahrecall placing a chain on noah's beloved bicycle00 times and he began to sob and visibly break down on the wi

ashley white was in the courtroom as the potential jurors were being questioned. she's charged with child abuse and neglect of her son noah and infant daughter. for the last six hours her lawyer, kelsey bulger, has asked potential jurors about their involvement on facebook, specifially liked or commented on anything about noah. she's also asking if they've joined any facebook groups related to his death. white spoke in court today, telling the judge she was not guilty after all the charges were read to her. she's remained emotionless as her lawyers have asked potential jurors questions about her children. have lawyers given you any clue how long this jury selection process will take? they're hoping to get it done as soon as possible. they'll start again at 9 tomorrow morning and select seven more potential jurors for the pool. they will then be whittled down to 12 jurors and two alternates. prosectors are prepared to bring in witnesses tomorrow. the defense asked its witnesses to come on wednesday, chris..... standing out there in the snow inside parts of southwes

continuing coverage now - of the ashley white trial in pulaski county. right now the court is about to wrap up day two of jury selection - a process that's taking much longer than expected. wdbj7's justin ward is live at the pulaski county courthouse to explain how that's altered the trial schedule. a jury was already supposed to be set at this time today. now the trial is expected to start tomorrow, that is if the lawyers can find a impartial jury. there are 24 people in the jury pool now. lawyers say the court could widen the pool 30 people which will then be narrowed to 12 jurors and two alternates. the commonwealth's attorney had no comment on the jury selection process. in court it seems all parties are annoyed with how slow the ashley white is in the court room again today crying on several occasions when potential jurors brought up their interactions with noah. she was in tears when one man said his child played basketball with noah and talked to white during those games. he was put in the jury pool even though other potential jurors with similar

a judge will start hearing ashley white today. on tuesday the judge decided to grant a change of venue defense and the prosecution agreeded on a bench trial... instead of a jury trial. legal experts say both sides could view this as a victory.. but the lack of a jury most likely benefits the defense. # lawyers involved in jesse matthew's capital murder case made an unexpected appearance in court wednesday. an order was entered into the court file to give the defense an additional 30 days to file a change of venue motion. matthew is accused of abducting and murdering u-v-a student hannah graham. he could face the death penalty if convicted police are searching for the brief chase from franklin to roanoke county before crashing on route 220. five people were in the car when it happened... 4 are in the hospital. officers say the armed driver fled the scene on foot.# thursday: increasing sunshine with highs in the upper 20s.staying breezy friday: increasing clouds with highs in the our region as you head out the door this morning. com

we will hear from those who saw >> mona: more witnesses take the stand are if the trial of ashley white. mother of the boy who died in a septic tank. you get a cold. you can't breathe through your nose. suddenly, you're a mouthbreather. opens your nose up to 38% more than cold medicine alone. shut your mouth and say goodnight mouthbreathers. >> thick clouds of smoke you could seat flames the whole building was on fire. >> patti: this morning we are continuing our coverage of that fire at the former dan river plant in brooknil. we have video hahas come in of that fire. you see it is nowhere near as large as it was. there are flames, now a short time ago we spoke with the fire marshall who says the fire is under control and the search for a cause begins. >> with a building this size you know this will be a little while before we have answers. a fire department worked throughout the night. getting it under control brought team work >> it is great our fighting force is volunteers. there are a small amount getting compensation. everyone is volunteering to do this. all the effort is put in is

a lawyer not asssociated with this case says that decision may now benefit ashley white. richard chidester/giles county attorney: "you may certainly get the same outcome but the judge is certainly more likely to be not caught up in the emotion and the passion of the case." he says it's human nature for a jury not familiar with the law to preceive certain pieces of evidence differently than a judge. a danville man is charged with making a false report to police. yesterday jov hall told officers he was the victim of an armed robbery near the intersection of south main street and kemper road. that's near the danville community college campus. the school sent out a safety alert to students and employees. investigators later determined that hall's report was not true. the last member of the bedford boys unit from world war morning. allen huddleston was in his 90's and had been having health problems huddleston was injured in training and did not storm the beaches of normandy on d-day with the rest of the bedford boys. he rejoined company a two months later. tonight at eleven o

. >>> day one ashley white's time by judge is just now wrapping up for the day. the mother of 5-year-old noah thomas whose body was found in he went missing faces four felony and child neglect charges. our suri crowe has just stepped out of the court room and has the latest development. >> reporter: danner, so far today prosecutors have called 12 witnesses to the stand, including the assistant medical examiner who testified that noah died of drowning with hypothermia as a contributing dues his death. prosecutors painted a picture of an unkempt home littered cigarette butts. several investigators were called to the stand including two fbi agents that testified that the cigarette smoke was so thick inside the trail we are little noah thomas lived, when they atrivd search for the little boy, two of the agents on the them a to wear filtration masks. put a of the investigator's testimony included white explaining to them that white's baby sister wore a nebulizer for breathing issues. a lead fbi agent admitted that white said her official story she took noah and baby a

as testimony in the case against ashley white begins tomorrow morning. david lovell / nicole lovell's dad "i have so many regrets. i wasn't there for her when she needed me. there's no way to roll back the time." plus... in an emotional interview with doctor phil... the father of nicole lovell opens up about the death of his daughter. and... remembering a long time friend. a veteran shares his memories of allen huddleston -- the last of the bedford boys. good evening, and thanks for joining us for wsls 10 at eleven. i'm john carlin. and i'm lindsey ward. a judge will start hearing evidence in the trial against ashley white tomorrow morning. this after judge bradley finch made the unusual decision to grant a change of venue request. after the judge's decision to move the trial to another jurisdiction ... the prosecution asked for a bench trial in pulaski county instead of a jury trial. means judge finch will now decide white's fate. legal experts say both sides could view this as a victory.. but the lack of a jury most likely benefits the defense more. ja

a lawyer not asssociated with this case says that decision may now benefit ashley white. richard chidester/giles county attorney: "you may certainly get the same outcome but the judge is certainly more likely to be not caught up in the emotion and the passion of the case." he says it's human nature for a jury not familiar with the law to preceive certain pieces of evidence differently than a judge. drop, the city of danville is asking folks to during peak hours as we head into next week. that time is from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. today, tomorrow, and officials say there is available and the grid is in good shape, but cutting back on usage will help keep electric rates low. the ronald valley newer valley could get a couple of bursts mostly tingling snow though back into the mountains of west virginia here you go you forecast across the area upper 20s low 30s. ronald valley lynchburg center virginia low valley lynchburg ctr., virginia low to mid 30s mostly sunny southern virginia mid to upper 30s for you newer valley southwest more the way of a mix of sun and clouds today. highs i

late yesterday afternoon a pulaski county judge ruled ashley white abused and neglected her children. wdbj7's justin ward tells us what white said happened the day her son noah thomas went missing nearly a year ago. ashley white's lawyers had nothing to say friday afternoon - just moments after judge bradley finch ruled white is guilty of three counts of child abuse and neglect. finch said this was a disaster waiting to happen. white admitted leaving her five year old noah thomas and her infant alone for up to 50 minutes while she took her boyfriend to work - proving negligence, finch said. testimony revealed an abundance of smoke was present in the home too the day noah went missing. some investigators had to wear masks when they searched the home. investigators also found weed inside the home and a closet in her infant's room where white said weed was grown two years before the baby was born. finch said pictures submitted as evidence condition. white said on the stand she first lied that morning she reported noah missing wanting the focus to be on finding noah and not on her. she to

happening now - jury selection for ashley white's trial is underway. it started more than an hour ago. she's the mother of noah thomas, the young boy found in a septic tank near his family's home in pulaski county last march. wdbj7's justin ward has been in the court room this morning. what are lawyers hoping to achieve today? they're filtering through 122 potential jurors with plans to seat the jury today. white's attorney kelsey bulger has said at previous hearings that people in pulaski county already know too much about the case. ashley white is charged with three counts of child abuse and neglect. about an hour ago she was arraigned on those charges and plead not guilty to all three. today she's in the courtroom listening to the answers from the potential jurors. she's wearing a white sweater and black pants which is different from the jail clothes she usually courtroom. the jail brought her in more than two hours early to prepare for the trial. what types of questions are potential jurors being asked? the judge, and both the prosecution and defen

testimony just wrapped up for the day in pulaski county for the boy's mother, ashley white. she's charged with child abuse and neglect after she told investigators she left noah and his infant sister home alone. the five year old was found dead in a septic tank near the home after a weeklong search. wdbj7's justin ward has been in the courtroom all day and joins us now live. justin, you've learned more about that septic tank. gary meadows, the man who rented the property to ashley white and her boyfriend paul thomas, says he made a repair to that septic tank in 2014. another tank was a retired plumber helped reroute a line to the tank. a department of health inspector is supposed to come check those repairs to make sure they're up to state code - meadows says he never called the health department. white's attorney, kelsey bulger, told him not complying with state regulations is a class one misdemeanor. meadows said he was unaware. the man who pumped the tank said there were no screws on the lid when he got there. an investigator said one screw was on the lid when the search

the ashley white trial continues today. what white is just now revealing about noah thomas and the septic tank searchers found his body inside. and, firefighters say there's a problem with hydrants in the forest section of bedford county. how that made putting out a fire there last weekend a bigger challenge. just after 5 o'clock on friday. i'm kimberly mcbroom. i'm garrett turner. i'm leo hirsbrunner. scattered snow showers across the area today. highs top out in the mid 30s. 12 hours after it

the trial for his mother, ashley white, continues this morning. she's accused of child abuse and neglect and admits she left noah and his infant sister home alone when he disappeared in march. he was later found dead in a septic tank. here's wdbj7's justin ward with something not made public before: ritter from the pulaski county sheriff's office ashley white said it should have been bolted, saying "looking back on all the things i should have done, but didn't." ritter said in court thursday he interviewed white and her boyfriend paul thomas twice after noah was found dead. he was one of 12 witnesses giving the judge a more detailed account of what happened the day noah was first reported missing on march 22nd. when investigators arrived, an f-b-i agent said cigarette smoke poured out of the home - some investigators had to wear masks because of the smell. a picture of a closet inside the home showed what another law enforcement witness said was consistant with an indoor marijuana grow operation. white gave investigators a false account of what ha

as the trial against ashley white unfolds. the latest in the child abuse and neglect case out of pulaski there's such a move to the stem activities in our classrooms. teachers from across virginia come together in roanoke for an annual convention. the skills smoke and flames pour out of the dan river power plant... as crews fight the massive blaze.. what we're learning this morning as the cause remains under investigation. # "we've got to honor him. we've got to honor his memory and we're going to honor our profession and we're not going to quit and we're not going to back off." another law enforcement officer is killed on the job. how bedford county deputies plan to honor the fallen. good morning and thanks for joining us on virginia today here on wsls 10. i'm jenna zibton. and i'm patrick mckee. more cold air and the possibility of snow here in vdot crews may be our treating the roads today in preparation for winter weather. this is from hampton roads... where crews treated bridges and some primary streets with brine. vdot w

the trial for his mother, ashley white, continues tomorrow morning. she's charged with three counts of child abuse and neglect after she told investigators she left noah and his infant sister home alone. wdbj7's justin ward was in the courtroom all day and has new information about noah we just found out today. in an interview with investigator billy ritter from the pulaski county sheriff's office ashley white said it should have been bolted, saying "looking back on all the things i should have done, but ritter said in court interviewed white and her thomas twice after dead. he was one of 12 judge a more detailed happened the day noah was first reported missing on march 22nd. arrived, an f-b-i agent said cigarette smoke poured out of the home - some investigators had to wear masks because of the smell. a picture of a closet inside the home showed what enforcement witness said was consistant with an indoor marijuana grow operation. white gave investigators a false account of what happened the morning noah went missing - first telling them noah and his

many stated that they had already made up their minds that ashley white was guilty. other said that white must prove to them that she is innocent, rather than the prosecution proving that she is guilty, as the law states it the remainder of the jury selection process will begin at 9 o'clock tomorrow morning. the commonwealth's witnesses have been instructed to report to the court house by 2 o'clock in the afternoon. in pulaski bethany teague wsls 10. the blacksburg and virginia tech communities come together to remember the life of 13-year-old nicole lovell. she went missing back on january 27-th. a few days later .. her body was found in north carolina. wsls 10's brie jackson joins us now live from virginia tech. brie ... why did organizers decide to hold the vigil on college avenue? gathering here tonight to honor the the 13 year old. blue lights represent her favorite color organizers say they want nicole's memory to be associated with building a greater sense of community. celebrate the 13-year-old's life and show support to her family during this extremely diffi

ashley white is expected back in court for sentencing - on may 16th. in danville - two people are recovering - after they were shot - in a moving car. police tell us - they were called to stonewall court - just after two this morning. a 21-year-old man - and a 22- year-old woman - were both shot in the upper extremities. the two - were driving through the intersection of first street and abbott - when someone opened fire. they're expected to be okay. no arrests yet in the case. w-f-x-r's kristen eskow just got back from another rally against violence. she's live with what residents are saying tonight. bill - it was a smaller group than last week's walk - but weather - outside the danville boys and girls club - to walk against violence. 0:14-0:180:18-0:230:46-0:51 just one week after danville regional medical center hosted of doctor randolph neal,people joined again to pray and walk against violence.williams: "i've been thinking about it this week, and i think one of the most important things is to share hope with this commmunity."larson: "a lot of peop

ashley white, is set to start this morning. white faces felony child neglect and abuse charges after leaving noah and his infant sister home alone. his body was found in a septic tank near the family's home days after he went missing. noah's father paul thomas also faces two felony charges. his trial begins march 9-th. wdbj7's justin ward will be at today's hearing. stay with wdbj7 and wdbj7-dot-com for updates. a former bedford police officer is due in court this morning on child pornography charges. brian mcalexander was indicted on 6 felony charges friday. he was arrested by henry county sheriff deputies. he had previously resigned from the bedford police department last year, when the southern virginia crimes against children task force began their investigation. happening today: a candlelight vigil is being help for nicole lovell. she's the teenager from blacksburg who was found dead last week. all members of virginia tech and the blacksburg community are invited to attend tonight's vigil. it will start at 7:30 avenue betw

new at noon - jury selection is happening again today in ashley white's trail. right now dozens more people are in the pulaski county courthouse waiting to be questioned by the judge and lawyers. wdbj7's justin ward is watching the process in court. he's at the courthouse live now. how many potential jurors have been selected so far? they've approved five new people so far today. that brings the jury pool total to 20. once they have a pool of about 22 pool down to 12 jurors and two alternates. the courtroom again today also watching she's showed emotion twice. both times when one of the potential discussion they've had with someone who knew noah thomas - or a special way that person honored noah after his death. white is charged with child abuse and neglect of noah and her infant daughter. noah was the five year old son of white who was found in a septic tank near his home last year. the biggest controversy today has been around the wording of a single question asked by white's attorney. that question is "do you think a mother has a bigger responsibility than a

. >>> in the ashley white case, the defense renewed a motion for a change of location, and the judge is discussing this in chambers. the 31-year-old is charged with abuse and neglect after thomas, was found in a septic tank last march. the defense has been concerned about finding an unbiased jury pool. >> a call to an abandoned building ended up in a meth bust. salem police charged joseph gabris with manufacturing and possession of methamphetamine. when officers got to the building, joseph took off. they found him a short time later and they found liquid in a bottle. that's when gabris admitted to making meth before they got there. >> bedford county wants to make sure improvements to route 811. they're hoping to improve and a round about or two to keep that traffic moving. >> the improvements could improve the safety along the corridor and with access to the elementary school and other locations. and also allow for just a free-flow of traffic, a smoother commute for folks. >> danner: they are also looking into ways to accommodate pedestrians and bicyclists. details will be revealed a