. >> jane watrell joins us at the skreechb with the latest on what's happening in this investigation.wendy and jim, the father and son were home alone when the homicide occurred. two other members of the household were ay watching fireworks. casey emer was home alone with his wheelchair bound father on the 4th of july. when fairfax county police say the 25-year-old called 911 to report a break-in. >> when officers arrived what they discovered was a dead body inside, and an investigation revealed a homicide had occurred. >> emer, who neighbors say is autistic has been charged with the stabbing death of his father. it happened while the suspect's mother and brother were away from their home monday night watching fireworks. those who live in the upscale great falls development are shocked. >> it's a very quiet neighborhood except on the 4th of july with the fireworks. other than that, no, this morning at 6:00, a helicopter was hovering over our home. >> reporter: a domestic worker who didn't want to be identified said the family kept to themselves, many said they would frequently see one

jane watrel has our report. >> reporter: karen murphy walked into the prince william county courthouse to face felony murder and child neglect charges. the 40-year-old mom is accused of forgetting her 2-year-old son ryan in the family's minivan on june 17th. authorities say the toddler died after being exposed to the heat in excess of seven hours. prosecutor paul ebert says he doesn't believe murphy intended to harm her child, but maintains she is responsible for her actions. >> that's one of the reasons that we charge people. i don't know that she is going to be any better or worse for the prosecution, but one of the reasons is we hope it will be a wake-up call for other people who may be inclined to not take care of their children. >> reporter: murphy's attorney called the bristow veterinarian a wonderful mother who was devastated by the loss. >> i'm surprised that the prosecutor elected to bring these charges, literally within two weeks after the death of the child. the family hasn't really even had a chance to mourn. >> reporter: but according to court documents, the june incident

in greenbelt, jane watrel, news4. >> up next, innocent mistake, or was it intentional?the unexpected end to a local mayor's run for re-election. mayor's ru[ man ] i gottion. this new citi thankyou card and started earning loads of points. you got a weather balloon with points? yes i did. [ man ] points i could use for just about anything. ♪ ♪ there it is. [ man ] so i used mine to get a whole new perspective. ♪ [ male announcer ] the new citi thankyou premier card gives you more ways to earn points. what's your story? citi can help you write it. . >>> if you still plan to travel this summer, now may be the best time to book a late summer get away. southwest is holding a $59 flight sale, and some flights are even lower than that. none of the special fares apply to southwest flights out of dulles, but there are great deals out of bwi marshal airport. right now, for example, you can fly out of baltimore to norfolk for 39 bucks. can you believe that? the deals are available through next thursday, july 14th, and you've got to travel between august 23rd and december 14th. >>>

jane watrel, news 4. >>> the national mall will be closed for security sweep between 6:00 and 10:00 a.m. monday morning. the public can go through check points starting at 10:00, and the smithsonian metro station will also be closed monday until after the fireworks are over. >>> a narrow escape for the bomb squad. how the same surveillance video made lead them to the terrorist who planted the device. we'll tell you about that. >>> plus some good news straight from the chesapeake bay this summer. crab feasts are cheaper than they have been in years. we'll talk about that. >>> and a first for the annual july 4th hot dog contest. officials are changing up the competition this year. and someone, someone in our area is having a very good day. so who is the newest mega million? it's no one who works here. we'll find out who it is, and coming up with the nats. kim, what you got? >> well, we are tracking a thunderstorm, a live digital doppler. will more of these be lighting up the sky over the weekend? >>> a bomb squad officer caught in a blast, but manages so walk away with no injuries. it hap

jane watrel live outside the courthouse in manassas with today's developments. jane? >> reporter: wendy, this morning, karen murphy turned herself in at this courthouse after being indicted on murder and child neglect charges. with her husband and lawyer by her side, karen murphy headed into the prince william county white house to face felony murder and child neglect charges. murphy is accused of leaving her 2-year-old son in the family's minivan on june 17th. authorities say thdd

in great falls, jane watrell, news 4. >>> police are looking for suspects who stole from people duringorship services in northern virginia. members of at least three churches in vienna had their purses or wallets snapped on sunday morning. one at the holy church of the comforter and one at vienna presbyterian church. all victims left their purses unattended inside unlocked rooms in the churches. >> for an individual to go into a church and prey on the person is sad. >> it lowers your faith in human beings. >> police aren't sure if the thefts are connected, and anyone with information should call the vienna police at 703-255-6396. >>> whole foods is getting ready to put its first store in prince georges county, but some of the people who live in the area aren't too excited about it. according to the washington examiner newspaper, the gourmet grocer is planning to build the store in riverdale park along route 1. 36 acres of shops and residences along with a five acre park. that has some people worried about traffic. the only real access point is the already congested route 1. the store c

. >> jane watrel has made her way to the national mall and she joins us live. >> reporter: good morningit is absolutely gorgeous as kim causes partly cloudying about. just a lovely day down here on the national mall, but it will be a warm one and we'll talk about that in just a minute. i'm going to step out of the shot. you can see some of the activities going on here. there is some setup going on, some tents are being set up for the fourth of july presumably to help people stay out of the heat because it is going to be a very warm but lovely couple of days. beyond that, you can see the folk life festival and i want to talk about that. that is what's going on on the national mall today. it will be bringing tens of thousands of people down here to the 45th annual folk life festival. there's all sorts of concerts, demonstrations, workshop and most importantly food. this year the free celebration features columbian culture, the accomplishments of the peace corps, and a look at the history of rhythm and blues. it's not to be missed. however,s as the temperatures hit the 90s, it's very impor

in greenbelt, jane watrel, news4. >>> the mayor of rockville, maryland is speaking out about an incidentshe was not expecting today. phyllis marcucio was at the rockville town square today, announcing her re-election campaign. but her routine speech took a turn when a water fountain that was supposed to be turned off unexpectedly came on. her guests and supporters were all doused. the mayor is dismissing any claims of sabotage. >> oh, i think it's been one of the funniest, best campaign launches i've ever been through. we'll talk about this one for a long time. >> city manager scott uluri has announced plans to retire december 2nd after seven years with rockville. he says the timing has nothing to do with the fountain incident that disrupted the mayor's announceme announcement. >> how much more coverage did the mayor's campaign relaunch get because of that? >> kind of worked out that way, didn't it? >>> coming up, the case of the stolen picasso sketch has been cracked. the how the outfit tipped off police. >>> a man mauled in a rare grizzly bear attack a >> so, ah, your seat good? got th