. >> julie carey is live from the neighborhood not far from downtown fredericksburg. julie? >> reporter: well, you can see, crime scene tape up around this house that was the scene this morning of a family tragedy. i can tell you there have been a lot of tears shed across this community today for the victim betsy ellis. she was found dead inside this home that she shared with her adult son christopher. with more than 30 years in this community as a middle school teacher and a librarian, she touched many lives. now her son, 38-year-old christopher ellis, he is in custody tonight. he is charged with first-degree murder in connection with her death. the sheriff's office responded this morning around 5:00 a.m. to a neighbor's call that krychris ellis was in the backyard screaming. ellis initially assaulted a deputy, but he later was taken into custody. when investigators got inside the house that tragic discovery, betsy ellis was dead suffering from blunt force trauma wounds. coming up on news 4 at 5:00, you will hear from that neighbor who heard those startling screams this mor

worst drug epidemics in state history. >> only on news 4 tonight, northern virginia bureau chief julie carey visits one community where some victims of heroin are newborn babies. julie? >> well, winchester medical center started to see this troubling trend a few years ago as more expectant moms came in addicted to heroin and opioids like oxycontin. more babies were born from that addiction with serious problems. swaddled in this blanket one of the tiniest victims of the heroin and opioid epidemic. babies who go through withdrawal right after they're born. in winchester, doctors and nurses began to notice signs in newborns, neonatal abstinence syndrome. at birth they experience withdrawal. >> the babies are very irritable, their muscle tone is increased. they're very jittery. they'reery difficult to console. they spend a lot of time and energy crying. >> reporter: feeding is also difficult. unless treated, the babies may fail to thrive. >> those babies need to get those symptoms captured pretty quickly or they're going to get into trouble. >> reporter: in the past two years winchester medical

inç manassas, julie carey, jus 4. >> tom kierein with us now.a cold start to this saturday but we're in the middle of a warming trend you think? >> it was frosty but where the sun was shining, all the frost is gone. it is still fight cold. a chill in the air. layer up a little bit. head out the door this morning into a gorgeous day. the potomac waters is as calm as a mill pond this morning. looks like a mirror reflecting the capital wheel at the national harbor. that's a live view from our prince george's county camera this morning. if you'll be shopping today, get hitting the malls or neighborhood stores we'll have terrific weather. lots of sunshine, hardly any wind but fight a chill in the air. by noontime ought to be in the upper 40s, getting to the low to mid-40s by midafternoon. sunset is 4:46. no rain or snow anywhere in the region from the mountains to the bay, from pennsylvania to the carolinas. no travel problems. temperatures are above freezing just about everywhere, we're in the mid to upper 30s. montgomery, prince george's, fairfax c

back to you now in the studio. >> julie carey, thank you, julie. >>> a woman's body was found inside a car. she was discovered in that car parked in someone else's driveway. the homeowner called the sheriff's office around 11:00 last night. the woman killed has now been identified as heather chacon. she suffered what's described as trauma to the upper body. the medical examiner is working to determine exactly how she died. >>> at the live desk, we learned a man who says he's a teacher at a st. mary's county high school is charged with liss isolicitin prostitute. gordon barge was arrested as part of a prostitution sting. he agreed to pay undercover officer for a sex act and the 35-year-old told police he started working at great mills high school a year ago, but the school board is not commenting on his employment. barge was released on his own recognizance on friday. back to you. >>> thanks, scott. >> right now we are trying to find out more about a fire that killed a man in prince george's county. firefighters found a camping trailer up in flames yesterday morning. it happened in cl

julie carey joins us where people are expected to gather. jules?> reporter: the victim's friends expect hundreds may join them tomorrow night at the vigil out there at second base. that's where 25-year-old brittany castro played

as julie carey reports there is a new option that can help. >> how are you? >> i'm terrible.e you? >> the latest crisis intervention team training winding to a close. officers are put to the test through role playing. news 4 was invited into an exercise rarely made public as the officers try out their new schools. >> good afternoon. hey, how are you? >> in this scenario they've been called to a hotel to check out a guy who has been crashing the complimentary classes ever day. >> they ask questions and listen to answers. >> would you like to talk with him today at all and maybe bump it up a little bit? >> no. i think i'm okay. >> the officer discovers he suffers from mental illness and is homeless and they get him to agree to go to a shelter. [ applause ] >> across the country now more than a hundred officers and deputies have cit training. 88 right here in the prince william county police department. >> another goal of cit training is to steer those in a mental hair crisis away from jail and prince william county and deputies have a new alternative. >> it's staffed by a cit-t

i'm julie carey, news 4. >> investigators are getting close to making an arrest in the murder of a 20-year-old woman in spotsylvania county. they found a cell phone and found important text messages and phone calls that were made just before she died. heather ciccone was found shot to death inside her car on sunday. her parents told news 4 their daughter received a call about 9:30 that night. that was the last time they saw her alive. >>> we're hearing for the first time from a u.s. soldier who spent nearly five years in captivity in afghanistan after walking away from his post. the new season of the hit podcast podcast serial is taking a closer look at bowe bergdahl's leadership. he thought his report would get the attention of top brass. >> i was fully confident that when somebody actually took a look at the situation and when people started investigating the situation that people would understand that i was right. you know, what was going on, a danger to the lives of the men in that company. >> bergdahl became lost and was captured by a group affiliated with the taliban. last year,

. >>> i'm julie carey in manassas. at a time when law enforcement are under fire, officers and deputies in prince william county are getting special crisis intervention training and they hope to give the public a different view of policing. coming up, i'll show you a special skill they're learning. >> plus the chipotle e. coli outbreak has hit our region and there are new details on where the people got sick and how the restaurant has changed in light of the outbreak. >> i know you like today. coming up, a stretch of unseasonably mild condition, but can we hang on to the dry conditions? i'll take you hour by hour through the weekend and even the early part of >>> the brother-in-law of the man suspected in the san bernardino shootings says the syed farook he knew was not radical. >> he says farook might have been brain washed. that brother-in-law sat down for an exclusive and extensive interview with nbc's lester holt. here's some of what he revealed about farook and the future of the shooting couple's 6-month-old child

that's where bureau chief julie carey joins us live to tell us how this shocking case came together. jul julie? >> reporter: well, prince william county detectives only started working on this case a day ago when they learned of inappropriate communications between detective abbott and a 13-year-old boy that he met as a youth hockey coach. that led to knowledge of a second victim. and in spite of abbott's death today, investigators are now going to go through all the items they seized at his townhouse to determine whether there could be more victims. dave abbott, a decorated detective, a member of the internet crimes against children task force, a youth hockey coach. but early this morning prince william county officers came to his townhouse in force to arrest him for sex crimes against children. the commotion awakened some neighbors. >> after 3:00, the dog starts barking and he usually only barks when he sees somebody. and i came down and a police officer was there. >> reporter: police were there to serve a search warrant and an arrest warrant accusing abbott of inappropriate contact

bureau chief julie carey is here with a look at a credit card fraud scheme. what are you hearing, jewulijul? >> reporter: this big spending couple from new york has been relocated to the fairfax county jail. the court documents show they started hitting stores in the district of columbia, northern virginia back in mid-september. police say they used fake credit or gift cards and they were buying mostly very expensive peume. tyson's corner center and fair oaks, two malls that were targets of this pair, 21-year-old donovan nedd and messihana alea leaalicia portern high school. she was recruited by nedd when she was still a juvenile. she revealed her plot in detail when police arrested her two weeks ago. look at the list of fake or cloned credit cards porter had in hand during multiple shopping sprees in northern virginia. all bore the name of her alias, tanya harding. >> this particular case was extremely complicated. it's very complex. and it's much larger and growing. this is a problem not only here in northern virginia but all along the east coast we're seei

coming up at 6:00, i'll tell you what response they plan to this information. >> julie carey, thank you >>> a new craft brewery is coming to loudoun county and bringing jobs and business to virginia farmers. a pilot malt house will be building an operation north of leesburg. the brewery will use more than 2 million pounds of wheat and rye over the next few years. he's working to make virginia the east coast leader in the craft beer industry. >> alexandria city council members will decide on saturday whether to give themselves a pay raise. they talked about the plan at a meeting tuesday night. according to the patch.com. the current council's salary is $27,500. if approved it would go up to $45,000. the mayor's salary would be from just $30,000 to $50,000. all the positions are considered part-time. the new salary would go into effect in january. >>> storm team 4 meteorologist amelia segal is here with a check of the forecast. i can't believe we're talking about the 60s in december. >> and potentially the 70s on sunday and monday. near-record warmth as we head into the weekend. our high

our bureau chief julie carey joins us live to explain how this tragic discovery was made. julie? >> well, the family home that became a murder scene is dark tonight except for those two porch lights. the crime scene tape was taken down a short while ago. investigators say they believe they know who killed betsy ellis. now they want to determine what caused a son to allegedly kill his mother. >> reporter: a quiet neighborhood street coming to grips with a family tragedy that played out before dawn. now 38-year-old chris ellis faces a first-degree murder charge accused of killing his mom. the neighbor was the one who called 911. he was in his backyard smoking when he heard chris ellis ranting and screaming. much of it gibberish, but he heard two distinct words. >> i do know his dad has passed away and it makes sense to me now that his mother was screaming mother and father, mother and father and maybe it hit home in his head and it literally seemed like he was going crazy. >> reporter: when officers arrived chris ellis was still in the backyard and he reportedly assaulted a deputy,

in alexandria, i'm julie carey, news 4. >>> the justice department lafrnes a police probe of anothery officer-involved shooting. we'll be right back. >>> two college students rescued during a hostage ordeal in new york are still in the hospital. s.w.a.t. teams swooped in to save iwo and nicholas goliath from a house in rochester yesterday. police charged four people with abducting the young men. they're both seniors with the university of rochester and one ended up with a gun shot wound to the leg. it is still not clear yet students were targeted. the university president says there is no threat to the school. >>> investigators are looking for the cause of of a deadly plane accident in california. a witness says flames were coming out of the small jet as it taxied on the runway at apple valley airport north of san bernardino. the plane then exploded, killing both people onboard. >>> the windy city on edge. today the justice department launched a civil rights probe of the chicago police department as new video surfaced of another deadly police-involved shooting. the city is now bracin

northern virginia bureau chief julie carey joins us near the most recent murder. julie? >> most of the folks i spoke to up and down this block weren't willing to share comments on camera with me, most fearful that gang violence might be involved in the killings. the gang prevention coordinator is offering his advice for how families can stay safe. >> the bodies of two young men found in two popular parks only about a mile apart. the most recent discovery was made last friday, just walking dift rance from deborah monroe's town home. >> i was just in shock. i won't let my grandchildren out of the yard. i won't let them in the yard at night. >> she's also purchased some protection now in the form of this taser. >> it is scary. you don't know if there is a reason why the boy was killed. some say it was gang related, but you don't know. >> reporter: in a nearby convenience store we spotted in collection box. 22-year-old edwarda almendares. his family hopes to raise enough money to return his body to the home country of honduras. it was the family of jose luis perez who did th

bureau chief julie carey reports on the critical clue that ended their crime spree. >> reporter: again and again from late october to thanksgiving weekend four armed robberies. inside gas stations clerks were terrorized. a gun pushed to their sides or held to their heads. court documents say these three men are to blame. they now face federal armed robbery charges. corey lamont rogers was the suspect holding a small, silver handgun. these are just some of the seven gas stations targeted. this exxon in annandale. the hillwood mart in falls church and another exxon station on route 50, one suspect, sometimes two would enter the stores. they were after money and often stole cigars, cigarettes and lottery ticket, too. they also occasionally made off with the clerk's cell phone, but it was at the annandale exxon on november 22nd that a suspect made a critical mistake. he carried a bag of doritos to the counter before he pulled his gun, when he fled he left the doritos behind. police ficker print off the bag, on black friday, yet another armed robbery. fairfax county police spotted a car use

. >> i'm julie carey in fairfax city. yesterday this patch of earth was a 15-foot deep hole carved up by a homeless man to live in. coming up, what fairfax city >>> now at 6:30, a string of armed robberies in prince george's county and in one of them an air jordan shoe might be the motive. >> a surprising discovery at a local park, a 15-foot deep, two-room cave. >> i haven't seen anything like it in the time that i've been here. >> who built it and why. >> some thieves broke into a warehouse and they took christmas gifts meant for children, but they couldn't steal the spirit of the season. we'll tell you who is stepping in to help. an emotional reunion as a mother meets three people who received her late daughter's organs. why these types of reunions are so rare. >> we begin now with those armed robberies. seven of them all on saturday and all of them targeting businesses in prince george's county. police are poring through surveillance video to search for links between the krims. pat collins with the latest on this inves

. >> julie carey joins us from falls church with basic police work led to these arrests. >> absolutelys one of seven gas stations hit within a month's time police believe, by the same three armed robbers. in fact, this gas station was held up at the peak of rush hour at 6:00 at night back on november 19th, but it was another armed robbery just a few days later where a bag of dor o doritos produced a key clue. these are the three men now facing federal armed robbery charges. court documents reveal corey lamont rogers was most often the suspect allegedly holding a small, silver handgun during the holdups. these are some of the gas stations targeted between late october and thanksgiving weekend. this exxon in annandale, the hillwood mart in falls church and another exxon station nearby on route 50. one suspect, sometimes two, would enter the stores. they were after money and often stole cigars, cigarettes and lottery tickets, too. they occasionally made off with the clerk's cell phone. it was at the annandale exxon that a suspect made a critical mistake. he carried a bag of doritos to the

. >> reporter: over resent months bureau chief julie carey has showed you efforts to change minds amongforcement. this was to train members of the fairfax county police department. a class for prince william county police and add to that this first training for firefighters and ems and open to every day residents of fairfax county. >> this class is giving us huge insight into something else that may be going on with the patient. >> the class seems to be having an impact. >> between 60% and 70% has said, they have used what they learn to assist someone. >> david culver, news 4. >> the county says the classes for the public are filling up fast. they have $25 for materials also offered in spanish. you can find a link by registering. we have also posted the personal stories of mental illness from people in our community along with a list of local treatment centers. >> so there is no snow in the poconos yet this year. >> no snow for you. >> usually, the pennsylvania mountain area is taking advantage of the winter weather by now. some ski resorts there, they can't even use those snow guns. i

bureau chief julie carey joins us from fitser stadium where this vigil is going to take place. julie? >> friends and family will gather around there around second base tomorrow and that's where brittany koster played on multiple teams and all of those friends will be here to pay tribute. they are also keeping a close eye on the ongoing investigation into her death. >> she was just, you know, a girl that everybody loves. >> that's one of many glowing descriptions friends of have 21-year-old brittany koster whether it was in adult softball league games or playing volleyball. koster was the one who lifted spirits on the team. >> always upbeat and always smiling. >> our motto is our team our family. >> reporter: her family got word something terrible had happened. koster had been shot and killed by her boyfriend at his rappahannock county home. 22-year-old derek williams is charged with involuntary manslaughter. he thought the gun was empty when he pointed it at koster and pulled the trigger. >> how she passed is -- very hard for everybody to understand. you don't ever pick up a gun

julie carey joins us where people are expected to gather. jules? >> reporter: the victim's friends expect hundreds may join them tomorrow night at the vigil out there at second base. that's where 25-year-old brittany castro played during the softball season and she played many nights a week and on many prince william county teams. they are also keeping a very close eye on the ongoing investigation into her death. whether it was an adult softball league game or playing volleyball. brittany koster was the one who lifted spirits on the team. >> always upbeat. always smiling. she is always there for somebody. >> our motto is all team, all family. >> they got word something terrible had happened. koster had been shot and killed by her boyfriend at her rappahannock home. he is charged with involuntary manslaughter. he thought the gun was empty when he pointed it at koster and pulled the trigger. >> how she passed is very hard for everybody to understand. you don't ever pick up a gun and point it at anybody. >> koster's friends say they are skeptical of t

. >>> i'm julie carey in the newsroom.onight in winchester, community leaders and others are gathering to view a powerful new documentary about the heroin crisis in the commonwealth. winchester has been especially hard hit with heroin deaths but heroin and opioid addictions are also taking tolls on very tiny victims. day are babies born to addicted or even recovering moms. now, these babies suffer from neonatal abstinence syndrome, withdrawing from drug exposure they received while still in the womb. >> the baby has the same issue that the mother does if suddenly the baby is cut off from the supply of drug into their system. >> ahead at 5:00, i'll take you into the winchester medical center's nicu where they've made dramatic changes to try to help these babies recover. >> all right. looking forward to that. thanks, julie. >>> one of the killers from california was seen at a gun range two days before the massacre. what an instructor says he saw the shooter do. >>> authorities in california are using some technology of their

northern virginia bureau chief jewelry ca julie carey is working this story. she's going to join us live on news 4 at 5:00. >>> a final farewell for noah leotta, a police officer who died last week after being hit by a suspected drunk driver on rockville pike. chopper 4 flaw overhead as officers saluted overhead today before a service at a church at gaithersburg and later as his hearse passed under a giant american flag. news 4's meagan fitzgerald will join us with the emotional farewells across the county in about ten minutes. >>> now to that developing story involving los angeles schools where officials abruptly shut down more than 1,000 schools because of what they call a credible threat. our team coverage starts at the live desk with wendy rieger. hi, wendy. >> hi there. we just learned from a ranking member of the house intelligence committee who says that l.a. school threat is believed now to be a hoax. but still, the l.a. school officials were not taking any chances today. nbc sources say the e-mail wases initially sent to the city school board early th

. >>> i'm julie carey in fairfax county where police have put a stop to a couple from new york who wentn a spending spree at malls in our area with fake credit cards. coming up, why police say their epic plays! epic comebacks! and now epic meatz! i love football...and pizza. get our new epic meatz pizza. with five meaty meatz. just $12 for a large. better ingredients. better pizza. better football. papajohns.com >>> they were a young couple with expensive taste in perfume, but that shopping habit helped lead to their arrest. police say the pair from new york had been ripping off local retailers for months using cloned credit cards. bureau chief julie care ary joins us from fair oaks mall with the story you'll see only on news 4. julie? >> reporter: well, doreen, what i found in the search warrant documents doesn't sound like my holiday shopping list. $1,700 of perfume, $800 hightops and $1,000 gucci watch. but that is the kind of stuff this couple was buying in our area. police were first alerted of them here at fair oaks mall. the female was still in high school. when she was arrested,

last night, our julie carey did the story and catherine valez in connecticut saw it and set up a gofund me page for mr. rios. today i talked to miss valez by phone. >> i felt so badly for this guy. he clearly was, you know, trying his beth to take care of himself in a very different situation, and just the fact that, you know, they had arrested him and destroyed the only home he had just absolutely just pulled at my heart strings. >> reporter: now off to the lamb center, a faith-based group that helps the homeless. hay say mr. rios was a regular there. >> i've just been impressed by his efforts of building that cave because really -- i find that really amazing and really sad, too, that he would have to go to those lengths to find a place to live. >> reporter: and they say people from all over have called to try and help him. >> it's a pretty impressive response. >> it is. i would say it's gone viral. >> reporter: now mr. rios has to deal with that destruction of property charge here in fairfax and an old traffic charge in arlington before he can get out and begin searching for another p

. >> i'm julie carey in fairfax city, yesterday this patch of earth was a 15-foot deep hole carved outby a homeless man to live in. coming up, what police did what they >> well, bill cosby is fighting back against seven women who have accused him of sexual assault. today he filed a defamation suit against the women and in it cosby said they made malicious and false accusations. more than 50 women say they were sexually assaulted by cosby. some of the accusations date back 30 years. >> a maryland institution for more than a century badly damaged in a blaze that investigators say may have started around the christmas tree. >> that fire caused the cancellation of the parade of lights at the annapolis yacht club and the impact will be felt well beyond that event and how it's affecting the annapolis community. saturday's fire gutted most of the annapolis yacht club's top two floors on the side that provides the best views of the annapolis harbor. a view enjoyed in this spot since 1886 when the club first organized. they modernized the building in 1963, but not enough to have a sprinkler sys

. >>> i'm julie carey in winchester, virginia, where the tiniest victims of the heroin and opioid epidemic are getting special treatment at this hospital. coming up, a look at the alarming trend and the action being taken by this entire community. >>> police are looking for more victims after a masseur was arrested for molesting women at a prominent local spa. >>> first at 6:30 tonight the controversy in full bloom over republican presidential candidate donald trump's plan to ban muslims from the u.s. >> as politicians on both sides of the aisle spoke out against it, trump went on msnbc's "morning joe." he said the ban would be temporary but wouldn't elaborate on when it should end. >> well, it's not unconstitutional keeping people out, frankly, and until we get ahold of what's going on, joe. we are at war with radical islam. we are at war -- >> i agree with that. >> -- whether we like it or not. i would want to engage the muslim community but the muslim community has to help us, they're not helping us. the muslim community is not reporting what's going on. they should be reporting that th

shortly after the jcp oa was concluded in july, secretary carey asked me to return to washington for my last post as investor a pole and for implementing the deal. in this job, i am leading a terrific team of colleagues. in the state department as well as the permit of energy, treasury, commerce, and other parts of the government to make sure the jcp oa is fully implemented to enhance the security of our country and our friends, and allies allies around the world. i'm pleased that to my colleagues are here with me today. i'm especially honored to meet with this committee which has been a valuable partner in shaping our iran policy over many decades. with bipartisan support, are common strategic objective as you have mention of preventing a nuclear iran. as you mentioned, our government has numerous and serious concerns about iran's policy in the region which are unrelated to the nuclear deal. we continue to raise concerns about the americans, about iran's support to terrorism, test of to israel, and its human rights abuses. my job is solely focused on the critical task of making sure