KANSAS CITY (AP) – A Kansas City man charged with stabbing two people last week in separate incidents is claiming demons told him to attack.

The Kansas City Star reports that 22-year-old Steven J. Bowes was charged in the stabbings Dec. 19 in Independence and Dec. 20 in Kansas City. He faces two counts each of first-degree assault and armed criminal action and one count of stealing a motor vehicle.

Court documents show Bowes told police that demons told him to go through with the stabbings, and that he waited until his victim was asleep in the Dec. 19 incident because it was the “moral thing” to do. Bowes also allegedly told police he believes the Dec. 20 stabbing was justified.

Bowes was taken into custody Thursday. Online records don’t immediately list an attorney for him.

LAWRENCE COUNTY — A Missouri man died in an accident just before 1p.m. Tuesday in Lawrence County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2009 Dodge Ram pulling a fifth wheel trailer with a 2003 Jeep Wrangler on it and driven by Terry G. Roberts, 69, Elkland, was westbound on Interstate 44 one mile west of Halltown.

The Jeep came off the fifth wheel, traveled into the median striking a median cable. The Jeep went airborne and struck the trailer pulled by an eastbound semi.

The Jeep continued airborne and struck the top of an eastbound 2016 Chevy Trax driven by Brian Teauner, 37, Lebanon.  The jeep ultimately came to rest off of the roadway on the south side of I-44.

Teauner was pronounced dead at the scene.  A passenger in the Chevy Megan Teubner, 42, Lebanon, was transported to a hospital in Springfield.

All were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the MSHP.

KANSAS CITY (AP) — More than 10,000 pets go through the Kansas City Pet Project shelter each year, but a big Mastiff mix with droopy eyes had a heartbreakingly long stay.

Now, after 445 days, Polina finally has a home.

The Kansas City Star wrote about the plight of Polina earlier this month. She was sweet but always left behind when one prospective pet owner after another adopted other rescue animals, largely because Polina is scared of other dogs and children.

But after the Star story, several people stepped forward to adopt Polina. In the end, she went to a Kansas City home where she can roam three acres of land and sleep on a large, warm bed.

KC Pet Project staff chose Polina’s new family after talking with them and visiting the home.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A 19-year-old Topeka man has been sentenced to life in prison for his role in a fatal drive-by shooting, but he’ll be eligible for parole after serving 25 years.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Christopher Shawn Pattillo was sentenced Tuesday for the 2016 killing of 20-year-old Brian Miller. Pattillo was convicted of felony first-degree murder in July.

Pattillo told the judge that he shouldn’t be sentenced to more than 40 years in prison for something that he says he “didn’t do.”

Witnesses at Pattillo’s trial said another man charged in the crime, De’Angelo Megle Martinez, was the gunman who fired 14 shots from a van driven by Patillo.

Jurors in the trial for Martinez deadlocked in September. A second trial is scheduled for February.

DICKINSON COUNTY—  Four people died in an accident just after 10a.m. Tuesday in Dickinson County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2001 Dodge Dakota driven by Lisa A. Luft, 47, Kearney, MO. was westbound on Interstate 70

Due to weather conditions the pickup hit the guardrail just east of Solomon.

The pickup traveled 230 feet beside the guardrail and then continued 150 feet on top of the guardrail before falling approximately 25 feet off the bridge. It landed on an embankment next to the railroad tracks below on its top.

Luft and passengers Brianna E. Luft, 20, and Saleena A. Senezee, 18, all of Kearney, MO., were pronounced dead at the scene.

A fourth passenger Aria L. Luft, 14, Kearney, MO., was transported to the hospital in Abilene where she died. The passengers were not wearing seat belts, according to the KHP.

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DICKINSON COUNTY—Just after 10 a.m., the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Department requested assistance from the Kansas Highway Patrol after taking a report of the single vehicle crash westbound near Abilene with multiple fatalities.

According to Trooper Ben Gardner, three people were pronounced dead at the scene and another died at the hospital shortly after.  Multiple families had to be notified so the names haven’t been released yet.

The cause of the accident is also still under investigation.

Trooper Gardner said that the KHP was busy this morning with non-injury “slide-offs” caused by snowfall. Weather is also believed to have played a factor in this morning’s fatality, according to Trooper Gardner.

Check St. Jo. Post for additional details as they become available.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas City, Kansas, man fatally shot during a Christmas Day gathering has been identified.

Police say 71-year-old Ernest Moore Sr. was found about 6 p.m. Monday outside a home. A woman was also wounded by gunfire and was taken to a hospital, but her injuries are being called minor.

Police say shots fired in an alley penetrated a house and struck the woman. Moore was fatally struck when he went out of the front of the house. He was found dead in a neighbor’s yard.

Police say there appeared to be a family gathering at the house at the time of the shooting.

No arrests have been made.

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KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a woman was wounded when gunfire went through a Kansas City, Kansas, house during a Christmas Day gathering and that a man was killed when he came out of the house.

The Kansas City Star reports that shots fired in an alley penetrated the house Monday night, sending the woman to a hospital with minor wounds. A man in his 70s was hit by more gunfire when he went out of the front of the house. He was found dead in a neighboring yard.

Police spokesman Patrick McCallop says there appeared to be a family gathering at the house and detectives were interviewing those who were there, as well as neighbors. No suspects were immediately arrested.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — An investigation is under way after a suburban Kansas City firefighter was found dead in his bed at the fire station.

The Kansas City Star reports that 46-year-old Jason Garrett had been with the Kansas City, Kansas, Fire Department for more than five years. He was found dead in his bed Tuesday morning at Fire Station 19.

The cause of death is not known but authorities believe Garrett died of natural causes. He was paramedic in addition to being a firefighter.

MARATHON, Fla. (AP) – A Missouri man died while snorkeling in the Florida Keys on Christmas Day.

Monroe County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Becky Herrin said in a news release that 69-year-old Owen Holmes of Ozark, Missouri, was visiting the Keys with his family over the Christmas holiday. He began to have problems Monday while snorkeling near the Sombrero Lighthouse.

Herrin says the crew brought Holmes on board the boat, operated by Starfish Snorkeling in Marathon. The U.S. Coast Guard responded to the location and took Holmes to shore. He was pronounced dead at Fisherman’s Hospital.

According to the release, Holmes had a number of medical conditions and there was no sign of trauma or injury.

An autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) – Court records say a Springfield woman stole a car with a 5-week-old baby inside, quickly abandoned the vehicle and then used a debit card taken from the car to buy cigarettes.

Thirty-three-year-old Julie Reeds pleaded not guilty last week to five felonies and a misdemeanor.

The Springfield News-Leader reports that the car was taken after it was left unlocked and running on the afternoon of Dec. 6 while a mother was picking up her child from a Springfield day care. Court records say the baby’s mother spotted the car parked nearby and a woman running away it. Police say Reeds then bought cigarettes.

Court records say she was arrested after trying to flee from police in a different stolen vehicle last week, striking a police car in the process.