title: Elizabeth Stride

text: Charwoman Catherine Lane also testified she knew Stride as a Swede named Long Liz whom she had known for about six months. Lane said Stride had informed her shortly before her death that she had "had a few words" with her partner, and that this was the reason she was again taking residence at Flower and Dean Street. Stride had given Lane a large piece of green velvet as she left the lodging-house before her death, asking Lane to "mind" the garment until she returned.


title: Elizabeth Stride

text: On 3 October, Michael Kidney formally identified Stride's body, stating the two had been in a relationship for "nearly three years". He added that they had occasionally separated because of Stride's heavy drinking, although she inevitably returned to him.


title: Elizabeth Stride

text: Dr Phillips testified that the cause of death had been "undoubtedly the loss of blood from the left carotid artery and the division of the windpipe." He firmly believed Stride had been "seized by the shoulders and placed on the ground, and that [her] murderer was [kneeling to] her right side" when he had inflicted the wound to her throat.


title: Elizabeth Stride

text: The inquest into Stride's murder lasted five days, with the final day of hearings being adjourned until 23 October. This final day of the hearing saw three witnesses testify—all of whom provided testimony confirming the identity of the decedent.


title: Elizabeth Stride

text: At the conclusion of this final day of hearings, coroner Baxter stated his belief that Stride had been attacked in a swift, sudden manner, with her death undoubtedly being a homicide, and no known circumstances being available which could reduce the crime to one of manslaughter. The murderer could have taken advantage of the checked scarf Stride was wearing to grab her from behind before slitting her throat, as had earlier been suggested by Phillips. Baxter, however, thought the absence of a shout for assistance and the lack of obvious marks of a struggle indicated that Stride had willingly lain down on the ground before the wound had been inflicted. Stride was still clenching a packet of cachous in her left hand when she was discovered, indicating that she had not had time to defend herself and that the attack had been sudden.


title: Elizabeth Stride

text: In relation to the actual crime scene, Baxter noted the decedent had been attacked in the passageway leading into a courtyard in which several families resided in cottages located a matter of yards from where her body was discovered, and that although this location afforded darkness, it was unlikely the murderer would have selected the location on account of Dutfield's Yard being an unfrequented location. Baxter further noted the windows of the International Working Men's Educational Club had been open, and that both Stride and her assailant would undoubtedly have heard the patrons' singing and dancing.


title: Elizabeth Stride

text: With regard to the witness testimony pertaining to the man or men seen in Stride's company in the two hours before the discovery of her body, Baxter stated many points of similarity had been given with regards to the physical description of the individual in her company, but also some of dissimilarity. However, Baxter stated these discrepancies did not conclusively prove there had been more than one man in the company of Stride between 11:00 p.m. and 12:45 a.m., but that the eyewitness descriptions suggested either that she had been in the company of a minimum of two men in her final hours, or that one or more eyewitness was mistaken in details of the description of the man he had seen.


title: Elizabeth Stride

text: Following a short deliberation, the jury, having been instructed to deliberate precisely how, when, and by what means Stride came about her death, returned a unanimous verdict: "Wilful murder against some person or persons unknown."


title: Elizabeth Stride

text: Stride's murder occurred in the midst of the spree of murders attributed to a serial offender known prior to her death as both the Whitechapel Murderer and Leather Apron, and due to a letter forwarded to Scotland Yard the day immediately prior to her death as Jack the Ripper. However, unlike at least three other murder victims then-ascribed to this perpetrator (each of whom had received extensive abdominal injuries in addition to one or more slash wounds across her neck), Stride had received no mutilation injuries, with her sole injury being a deep cut measuring two-and-a-half-inches beneath her jaw, which had severed her left carotid artery and trachea and had terminated beneath her right jaw.


title: Elizabeth Stride

text: As two other murders (those of Mary Ann Nichols and Annie Chapman) had occurred in the districts of Whitechapel and Spitalfields—both of which had been initially caused by knife wounds to the throat—within the previous month, Stride's murder was added to the Whitechapel murders investigation, and was widely believed to have been perpetrated by the same killer. However, some commentators on the case conclude that Stride's murder was unconnected to the other canonical murders This opinion is upon the basis that the body had not been subjected to any mutilation and that this murder was the only murder ascribed to Jack the Ripper to occur south of Whitechapel Road. Furthermore, it is believed that the blade used to cause the wound to Stride's neck may have been shorter and of a different design than that used to murder and subsequently mutilate the other four canonical murder victims. Most experts, however, consider the similarities in this case distinctive enough to connect Stride's murder with the two earlier Ripper murders, in addition to the murder of Catherine Eddowes later that same night.


title: Elizabeth Stride

text: The murder of Stride is regarded as one of the canonical Ripper killings due to numerous factors, including the general physical and lifestyle characteristics of the victim, the day of the week she had been murdered, the time of death, the murder location, and the method of her murder. It is suspected that when Stride's murderer heard Diemschutz's horse and two-wheeled cart approaching or entering Dutfield's Yard, he ceased his attack. The killer may have still been inside Dutfield's Yard upon Diemschutz's approach, as the gate on Berner Street was the only point of entry. He may have escaped when Diemschutz entered the International Working Men's Educational Club. Less than one hour later, Catherine Eddowes was murdered in Mitre Square, and both Stride and Eddowes had lived in Flower and Dean Street.


title: Elizabeth Stride

text: The deaths of Eddowes and Stride sent London into a renewed state of general panic, as this was the first occasion in which two murders ascribed to the Ripper had occurred in one night.


title: Elizabeth Stride

text: On 1 October, a postcard dubbed the "Saucy Jacky" postcard and also signed "Jack the Ripper", was received by the Central News Agency. This letter claimed responsibility for the murders of both Stride and Eddowes, and described the killing of the two women as a "double event"; a designation which has endured. It has been argued that this postcard was mailed before the murders were publicised, making it unlikely that a crank would hold such detailed knowledge of the crime. However, the letter was postmarked more than 24 hours after the killings had occurred; long after details of the murders were known by both journalists and residents of the area. Police officials later claimed to have identified a journalist as the author of the postcard, leading this letter to be dismissed as a hoax, an assessment shared by most Ripper historians.


title: Elizabeth Stride

text: Two weeks later, on 16 October, a parcel containing half a preserved human kidney, accompanied by a note, was received by the Chairman of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee, George Lusk. This note has become known as both the "Lusk letter" and the "From hell" letter, because of the return address used by the writer: "From hell". The author of this letter claimed to have "fried and ate" the missing half of the human kidney. The handwriting and general style of this letter significantly differ from that of the "Saucy Jacky" postcard.


title: Elizabeth Stride

text: The section of kidney was taken to Dr Thomas Horrocks Openshaw at the nearby Royal London Hospital. He believed that the kidney was human and originated from the left side of the individual from whom it had been taken. Dr Openshaw also stated the organ had been preserved in spirits prior to postage.


title: Elizabeth Stride

text: Acting Commissioner of the City Police, Major Henry Smith, claimed in his memoirs that this kidney matched the one missing from the body of Catherine Eddowes, because the length of renal artery attached to the kidney matched the missing length from Eddowes's body, and that the forensic examination conducted upon Eddowes's body and the section of kidney revealed signs of Bright's disease. Smith's story is considered by some historians to be a dramatic recollection on his part.


title: Elizabeth Stride

text: In his book "", author Stephen Knight linked the prominent physician Sir William Gull to Stride on the basis that both were reported to carry grapes; a theory which another author, Martin Fido, has dismissed as a "wild allegation".


title: Elizabeth Stride

text: A grocer named Matthew Packer is known to have implied to two private detectives employed by the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee named Le Grand and Batchelor that he had sold some grapes to Stride and her murderer shortly before her death. When interviewed by the police, Packer described the man he had seen as being aged between 25 and 30, slightly taller than Stride, and wearing a soft felt hat. Neither of Packer's descriptions of this individual matched witness statements provided by other witnesses who may also have seen Stride with potential clients shortly before her murder. However, overall, the witness descriptions given to police of individuals seen either in the company of Stride or the vicinity of her murder differed significantly. Moreover, Packer is known to have also informed a police sergeant named Stephen White that he had closed his shop on the date of the murder without seeing any suspicious characters or activity.


title: Elizabeth Stride

text: At the inquest into Stride's murder, pathologists had stated emphatically that the decedent had not held, swallowed or consumed grapes in the hours before her death. Both Blackwell and Phillips described the contents of Stride's stomach as being "cheese, potatoes and farinaceous powder".


title: Elizabeth Stride

text: Despite Packer's self-contradictory statements, investigators did discover a single grape stalk in Dutfield's Yard, and his story was reported in the "London Evening News" on 3 October. Nonetheless, the overall commander of the investigation into the Ripper murders, Chief Inspector Donald Swanson, is known to have stated that "any statement [made by grocer Matthew Packer] would be rendered almost valueless as evidence" and had likely been fabricated in order that Packer could sell his story to the press.


title: Elizabeth Stride

text: Further doubt is cast on the truthfulness of Packer's accounts by the general character of Le Grand (also known as Charles Grand, Charles Grandy, Charles Grant, Christian Neilson, and Christian Nelson). This individual had accrued an extensive criminal record, which included assault on a prostitute and conviction for theft. He was convicted of conspiracy to defraud in 1889 and served two years' imprisonment. After his release, he was arrested while in possession of a revolver and charged with demanding money with menace; a crime for which he was sentenced to twenty years' imprisonment.


title: Elizabeth Stride

text: Elizabeth Stride was buried on Saturday 6 October 1888 in the East London Cemetery, located within the east London district of Plaistow. Her funeral was attended by a small number of mourners, and the costs were provided at the expense of the parish by the undertaker, a Mr Hawkes.


title: The Challenge: USA

text: The Challenge: USA is a spin-off of the long running reality television series "The Challenge". It premiered on CBS on July 6, 2022.


title: The Challenge: USA

text: "The Challenge: USA" features cast members from CBS' reality shows: "Big Brother", "Love Island", "Survivor", and "The Amazing Race".


title: The Challenge: USA

text: In February 2022, a new series of international seasons was announced to air later in the year. The series is expected to comprise four new editions of "The Challenge" which includes "The Challenge: USA" followed by "" and two upcoming versions for Argentina, and the United Kingdom. These local renditions are expected to be followed by a fifth series in which winners of each series will compete again in Cape Town, South Africa on another season titled "The Challenge: Global Championship", which is also expected to air on Paramount+.


title: The Challenge: USA

text: "USA" consists of a daily challenge, winner's selection and an elimination round. For the first seven episodes, players compete as male/female pairs which change for each cycle of the game.


title: The Challenge: USA

text: From episode 8, the game changed to an individual format, and elimination rounds were designated to one gender. Players compete in daily challenges individually, where the last-place player of the designated gender is automatically sent to the elimination round to compete against the same-gender player later selected by the winners. The winner remains in the game and receives all the money in their opponent's bank account while the loser is eliminated.


title: The Challenge: USA

text: The remaining contestants were flown to Patagonia for the Final Challenge, where they would race up Cerro López mountain. Players complete a series of checkpoints in male-female pairs to earn points based on their placements. However, due to uneven numbers after Ben's departure from the competition, each female player would have to complete a checkpoint individually. The male and female players with the most points at the end of the Final Challenge are declared the winners of the season. To take home the money they currently possess in their bank account, players must finish the Final Challenge. If, at any point, a teammate quits, their partner is also out and both players' bank accounts are reduced to $0.


title: The Challenge: USA

text: The first pair or individual to complete each checkpoint receives 5 points each; second receives 4 points; third receives 3 points; fourth receives 2 points; fifth receives 1 point. After each checkpoint, the Algorithm determines new pairs for the next checkpoint.


title: The Challenge: USA

text: For the first episode, players chose their own teams prior to the "Down to Do the Math" challenge. From episode two to episode seven, and the Final Challenge, teams were decided by the Algorithm. From episode eight, players competed as individuals.


title: Jeph Loeb

text: Joseph "Jeph" Loeb III () is an American film and television writer, producer and comic book writer. Loeb was a producer/writer on the TV series "Smallville" and "Lost", writer for the films "Commando" and "Teen Wolf", and a writer and co-executive producer on the NBC TV show "Heroes" from its premiere in 2006 to November 2008. In 2010, Loeb became Executive Vice President of Marvel Television.


title: Jeph Loeb

text: A four-time Eisner Award winner and five-time Wizard Fan Awards winner, Loeb's comic book work, which has appeared on the "New York Times" Best Seller list, includes work on many major characters, including Spider-Man, Batman, Superman, Hulk, Captain America, Cable, Iron Man, Daredevil, Supergirl, the Avengers, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, much of which he has produced in collaboration with artist Tim Sale.


title: Jeph Loeb

text: Jeph Loeb was raised in a Jewish family in Stamford, Connecticut. He began collecting comic books during the summer of 1970.


title: Jeph Loeb

text: His stepfather was a vice-president at Brandeis University, where Jeph met one of his mentors and greatest influences in comic book writing, the writer Elliot Maggin. Jeph attended Columbia University. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and a Master's degree in Film. His instructors included Paul Schrader.


title: Jeph Loeb

text: Loeb's debut in filmmaking was his collaboration with Matthew Weisman in authoring the script of "Teen Wolf". The film was released on August 23, 1985 and was a notable starring role for Michael J. Fox. Loeb and Weisman then collaborated in writing the script of "Commando". The film was released on October 4, 1985 and starred Arnold Schwarzenegger. His next screen credit was the film "Burglar", released on March 20, 1987. The plot was based on the novels of Lawrence Block about fictional burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr. His collaborators were Weisman and Hugh Wilson.


title: Jeph Loeb

text: The film was atypical for the time, featuring a female comedic role for starring actress Whoopi Goldberg. His second film that year was "Teen Wolf Too", a sequel of "Teen Wolf", which was co-written by Weisman and Tim Kring. The film was released on November 20, 1987. The film featured teen idol Jason Bateman and veteran actor John Astin. Loeb would re-team with Kring almost two decades later for the TV series "Heroes". Four years later, Loeb was working on a script for "The Flash" as a feature with Warner Bros. While the script deal fell through, Loeb met then publisher Jenette Kahn who asked Loeb to write a comic book for DC Comics.


title: Jeph Loeb

text: In 2002, Jeph Loeb wrote the script for the episode of "Smallville", entitled "Red", which introduced Red kryptonite into the series. He became a supervising producer and has written many episodes since then. He signed a three-year contract, and although producers Miles Millar and Alfred Gough offered to keep him on for future seasons, Loeb left to care for his son, who had cancer ("See Comics career below").


title: Jeph Loeb

text: Loeb later became a writer/producer on the ABC TV series "Lost" during that show's second season. Leaving "Lost", Loeb went on to become Co-Executive Producer and writer on the NBC drama "Heroes", which his colleague Tim Kring had created. Loeb wrote the teleplay for the first-season episodes "One Giant Leap" and "Unexpected". The show prominently features the artwork of Tim Sale, Loeb's longtime comics collaborator.


title: Jeph Loeb

text: The series was nominated for the 2007 Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, and a Writers Guild of America award for Best New Series. It won the People's Choice Award for Favorite New TV Drama, as well the Saturn Award for Best Network Television Series. It was also nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Dramatic Television Series.


title: Jeph Loeb

text: Loeb and Tim Kring were presented with the Jules Verne Award for Artistic Achievement at the Jules Verne Festival in Paris, France, on April 22, 2007, for their work on "Heroes". Loeb himself was also presented with a belated 2005 Jules Verne Award for Best Writing for his work on "Smallville", which he had not previously been given because his trip to the Festival that year had been cancelled due to his son's ill health.


title: Jeph Loeb

text: On November 2, 2008, "Daily Variety" reported that Loeb and fellow "Heroes" co-executive producer, Jesse Alexander, were no longer employed on the series. In an interview with Comic Book Resources, Loeb stated, "As of today, Jesse Alexander and I have left "Heroes". I'm incredibly proud to have been a big part of the success a show with eight Emmy nods and a win this year for NBC.com. I will miss the superb cast and writing staff and wish everyone the best." At the time, Loeb had completed writing and producing the third-season episode, "Dual".


title: Jeph Loeb

text: On June 28, 2010, Marvel Entertainment, as part of its expansion into television, appointed Loeb to the position of Executive Vice President, Head of Television of the newly created Marvel Television, in which Loeb would work with publisher Dan Buckley, to create both live-action and animated shows based on Marvel's catalog of characters.


title: Jeph Loeb

text: In October 2019, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige was promoted to Chief Creative Officer of Marvel Entertainment, which includes Marvel Television, prompting Loeb to leave the company after nearly a decade. Loeb had been planning his departure, however, before Feige's promotion.


title: Jeph Loeb

text: Loeb is known for his extensive use of narration boxes as monologues to reveal the inner thoughts of characters, though the character interactions he writes are sparse in terms of dialogue.


title: Jeph Loeb

text: Jeph Loeb's first comic work was "Challengers of the Unknown" vol. 2 #1 – #8 (March -October 1991), which was the first of many collaborations with Tim Sale. Their later collaborations included the -centered ""; "", a 13-issue limited series; and "", a 14-issue limited series set in the first years of the hero's career. "The Long Halloween" was one of three noted comics that influenced the 2005 feature film "Batman Begins", the others being "" and "Batman: Year One". Other Loeb-Sale collaborations at DC include the "Superman for All Seasons" limited series and "".


title: Jeph Loeb

text: At Marvel Comics, Loeb worked on the "Age of Apocalypse" crossover storyline in 1995 and co-created the X-Man character with artist Steve Skroce. Loeb wrote the "Heroes Reborn" version of Captain America in 1996–1997 He and Tim Sale crafted several limited series for Marvel including "Daredevil: Yellow" "", and "".


title: Jeph Loeb

text: Loeb became the writer of "Superman" with issue #151 (Dec. 1999). His tenure on the title, largely drawn by Ed McGuinness, included the "Emperor Joker" and "Our Worlds at War" crossovers. He left "Superman" with issue #183 (August 2002). At the end of 2002, Loeb teamed with artist Jim Lee to create the year-long story arc "Batman: Hush", which spawned three lines of toys, posters and calendars, and sat at the #1 spot for eleven of the twelve months it was in publication. The following year, Loeb and McGuinness launched "Superman/Batman". Loeb's run on the title spawned a new ongoing "Supergirl" series, and an adapted from Loeb's "Public Enemies" story arc.


title: Jeph Loeb

text: After signing an exclusive contract with Marvel in September 2005, Loeb launched "Hulk" with artist Ed McGuinness, in which he introduced the Red Hulk.


title: Jeph Loeb

text: In 2006, Loeb chose his hometown of Stamford, Connecticut to be subject to superhero destruction in the first issue of the 2006–2007 Marvel miniseries "Civil War", the central title of the crossover storyline of the same name. That same year, Marvel announced an untitled "Spider-Man" series by Loeb and J. Scott Campbell, to be released "sometime in 2007". The series was subsequently cancelled and then brought back on the schedule in 2010, with a 2011 article mentioning it's "still being worked on". In 2021, Campbell confirmed that the project has been cancelled despite having two fully pencilled issues.


title: Jeph Loeb

text: In 2007, Jeph wrote the miniseries "", which used the five stages of grief as a motif to explore reactions of various characters of the Marvel Universe to the loss of the assassinated Captain America. The first issue ranked No. 1 in sales for April 2007, and the fifth and final issue, dated July 4, 2007, was the "Funeral for Captain America", which was covered by the Associated Press and "The Washington Post".


title: Jeph Loeb

text: Loeb wrote two miniseries for the Ultimate Marvel Universe. His work on "The Ultimates 3" in 2007, with artist Joe Madureira, was panned by critics for its use of transgressive sexual and violent content for shock value "without the political relevance or epic pacing of the first two volumes." In 2008, Loeb returned to the Ultimate Universe with artist David Finch for the critically reviled five-issue miniseries "Ultimatum". Described in a 2015 Vulture retrospective as "one of the biggest creative disasters in comics history", "Ultimatum"'s gratuitous murder scenes permanently damaged sales across the entire Ultimate Universe and in the long run brought about its cancellation. "Over the course of just five issues, 34 different heroes and villains were murdered, often by gruesome means: Doctor Strange was squeezed until his head exploded; Magneto was decapitated; the Blob ate the Wasp and, while holding her half-devoured corpse, belched out, 'Tastes like chicken'; and so on." The review site Let's Be Friends Again described "Ultimatum" as “a base and insulting comic book.” Critic Jason Kerouac wrote, ""Ultimatum" #5 could quite possibly be the single worst piece of writing in recorded history."


title: Jeph Loeb

text: A "" limited series was announced in 2008 but only a #0 issue was published. The long-delayed project was scheduled to finally see print in September 2015.


title: Jeph Loeb

text: Loeb's son, Sam, died on June 17, 2005 at the age of 17, after a three-year battle with bone cancer. In June 2006, Sam had a story published in "Superman/Batman" #26, which was nearly completed before his death. His father finished the work with the help of 25 other writers and artists, all of whom were friends of Sam, including Geoff Johns, John Cassaday, Ed McGuinness, Joe Madureira, Rob Liefeld, and Joss Whedon. The issue also featured a tale titled "Sam's Story", dedicated to Sam, in which a boy named Sam serves as the inspiration for Clark Kent to later become Superman.


title: Jeph Loeb

text: During Loeb's tenure as the head of Marvel Television, the Netflix shows "Daredevil", "Iron Fist" and "The Defenders" were criticized for promoting negative stereotypes of East Asians and East Asian culture. Following the controversy surrounding "Iron Fist"s casting, Loeb defended the casting of white actor Finn Jones, emphasizing that Danny Rand's status as an "outsider" was a vital theme of the show.


title: Jeph Loeb

text: While promoting the second season of "Iron Fist" at San Diego Comic-Con 2018, Loeb appeared on stage wearing a karate gi and headband as part of a comic bit with "Iron Fist" actress Jessica Henwick, who forced him to remove the costume. The stunt was heavily criticized as culturally insensitive.


title: Jeph Loeb

text: During the #SaveDaredevilCon panel for Comic-Con@Home in July 2020, Peter Shinkoda, a Canadian actor of Japanese descent who played recurring villain on "Daredevil", suggested that Loeb forced the show's writers to drop proposed storylines fleshing out Nobu and fellow recurring villain Madame Gao. Shinkoda accused Loeb of explaining to writers that "there were three previous Marvel movies, a trilogy called "Blade" that was made where Wesley Snipes killed 200 Asians each movie. Nobody gives a shit so don’t write about Nobu and Gao." Shinkoda also claimed that he and Gao's actress Wai Ching Ho were not invited to the season 2 premiere of "Daredevil" and received less payment than the extras. Co-star Tommy Walker said that "Daredevil" and "Defenders" showrunner Doug Petrie had previously pitched a multiracial Asian American version of "Iron Fist" to Marvel Television in early development, but was rejected by Loeb.


title: Jeph Loeb

text: Many of Loeb's books, such as "Batman: The Long Halloween", "Superman For All Seasons", and the Marvel "color" books ("", "", "") have garnered critical praise, and have been adapted into other media.


title: Jeph Loeb

text: "Hulk" #1, in which Loeb introduced the Red Hulk, was the #1 selling comic book for January 2008. Subsequent issues sold well, but received mixed to negative reviews. Issues #7–9 of the series, along with "King-Size Hulk" #1, were collected into a trade paperback volume, "Hulk: Red and Green", which made the "New York Times" Graphic Books Best Seller List in May 2009 (as did "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8", Volume 4, on which Loeb collaborated).


title: Jeph Loeb

text: The first issue of Loeb's "The Ultimates 3" continued the series' history of ranking at No. 1 in sales, though the series was much less well-received critically than its predecessors.


title: Jeph Loeb

text: The first issue of "Ultimatum" ranked No. 1 in sales for November 2008. At Weekly Comic Book Review, Andrew C. Murphy gave it a B+, praising David Finch's art, while Ben Berger gave it a C, opining that there was too much exposition, but praising Finch's art. The rest of the series, however, received more negative reviews. IGN's Jesse Schedeen gave the series' final issue a scathing review, saying, "Ultimatum is one of the worst comics I have ever read," and called it "the ultimate nightmare." Points of criticism among these reviews included the level of graphic violence, which included cannibalism, and the notion that the series was sold on the basis of its shock value, with some reviewers singling out Loeb's dialogue, characterization and storytelling, others asserting the story's lack of originality, or opining that the series would've been better suited to someone who had previously been more involved with the Ultimate line, such as Brian Michael Bendis or Mark Millar.


title: Jeph Loeb

text: In 2009 "Ultimates 3" and "Ultimatum" were included on Comics Alliance's list of The 15 Worst Comics of the Decade.


title: Gia Carides

text: Gia Carides (born 7 June 1964) is an Australian actress. She portrayed Liz Holt in "Strictly Ballroom", Susy Connor in "Brilliant Lies", and Cousin Nikki in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding."


title: Gia Carides

text: Carides was born in Sydney, Australia, to a Greek father and an English mother. Gia is sister to Zoe Carides, also an actress, and Danielle Carides, a singer songwriter. She began acting at the age of 12; her first film was the drama "The Love Letters from Teralba Road."


title: Gia Carides

text: Early in her career, Carides starred as Helena Angelopolous on the Australian television series "Police Rescue", also receiving acclaim for her films "Strictly Ballroom" and "Brilliant Lies", with AFI Award nominations for each.


title: Gia Carides

text: She is also known for her roles as Robin Swallows (née Spitz) in "" and as Cousin Nikki in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", the sequel television show "My Big Fat Greek Life", and the sequel film "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2".


title: Gia Carides

text: Carides works in both America and Australia, recognised for a host of film and television credits including "Primary Colors", "Year One" and "East of Everything". She also appeared in a guest spot on husband Anthony LaPaglia's television series "Without A Trace".


title: Gia Carides

text: Carides was married to actor Anthony LaPaglia, whom she met in Sydney in 1992. A year later they starred together in the film "Paperback Romance" (a.k.a. "Lucky Break"). She and LaPaglia are the parents of daughter Bridget, born in January 2003.


title: Citronella oil

text: Citronella oil is an essential oil obtained from the leaves and stems of different species of "Cymbopogon" (lemongrass). The oil is used extensively as a source of perfumery chemicals such as citronellal, citronellol, and geraniol. These chemicals find extensive use in soap, candles and incense, perfumery, cosmetic, and flavouring industries throughout the world.


title: Citronella oil

text: Citronella oil is also a plant-based insect repellent and has been registered for this use in the United States since 1948. The United States Environmental Protection Agency considers oil of citronella as a biopesticide with a non-toxic mode of action.


title: Citronella oil

text: The higher proportions of citronellal and geraniol in the Java type oil make it a better source for perfumery derivatives. The standard quality of Java type from Indonesia is regulated by Indonesian authority under SNI 06-3953-1995, which requires citronellal minimum 35% and total geraniol minimum 85%.


title: Citronella oil

text: Both types probably originated from Mana Grass of Sri Lanka, which according to Finnemore (1962) occurs today in two wild forms – "Cymbopogon nardus" var. "linnae (typicus)" and "C. nardus" var. "confertiflorus". Neither wild form is known to be used for distillation to any appreciable extent.


title: Citronella oil

text: Citronella oil from Cymbopogon species should not be confused with other similar lemony oils from "Corymbia citriodora" and "Pelargonium citrosum".


title: Citronella oil

text: Direct application of citronella oil has been found to raise the heart rate of some people. Health Canada banned the oil's use as an insect repellent in 2012 but later lifted the ban in February 2015.


title: Citronella oil

text: At present, the world annual production of citronella oil is approximately 4,000 tonnes. The main producers are China and Indonesia - producing 40 percent of the world's supply. The oil is also produced in Taiwan, Guatemala, Honduras, Brazil, Sri Lanka, India, Argentina, Ecuador, Jamaica, Madagascar, Mexico, and South Africa.


title: Citronella oil

text: The market for natural citronella oil has been eroded by chemicals synthesised from turpentine derived from conifers. However, natural citronella oil and its derivatives are preferred by the perfume industry.


title: Citronella oil

text: Citronella oil is popular as a natural insect repellent. Its mosquito repellent qualities have been verified by research, including effectiveness in repelling "Aedes aegypti" (dengue fever mosquito). To be continually effective, most citronella repellent formulas need to be reapplied to the skin every 30–60 minutes.


title: Citronella oil

text: Citronella candles (which burn citronella oil) are no more effective than other candles at repelling insects, and experts do not recommend it as a useful method.


title: Citronella oil

text: Research also indicates that citronella oil is an effective repellent for body lice, head lice, and stable flies. A study conducted by DARPA in 1963 determined that hydroxycitronellal was an effective repellent against both aquatic and terrestrial leeches.


title: Citronella oil

text: The US Environmental Protection Agency states that citronella oil has little or no toxicity when used as a topical insect repellent, with no reports of adverse effects of concern over a 60-year period. Some products are applied to human skin, so EPA requires proper precautionary labeling to help assure safe use. If used according to label instructions in the US, citronella is not expected to pose health risks to people, including children and other sensitive populations. The US Food & Drug Administration considers citronella oil as generally recognized as safe (GRAS).


title: Citronella oil

text: Canadian regulatory concerns with citronella as an insect repellent are primarily based on data-gaps in toxicology, not on incidents.


title: Citronella oil

text: In the EU, Ceylon type citronella oil is placed on the category 3 list, with some safety concern regarding methyl eugenol. In the UK, EU legislation governing insect repellents came into force in September 2006, which banned citronella as an active ingredient in any insect repellent products. This applied to insect repellent for both humans and other animals. It can still be sold as a perfume, but must not be sold as an insect repellent.


title: Kochadaiiyaan

text: Kochadaiiyaan: The Legend () is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language 3D animated action film written by K. S. Ravikumar and directed by Soundarya Rajinikanth. It is India's first photorealistic motion capture film, featuring characters whose designs were based on the appearance and likeness of their respective actors. Rajinikanth, also Soundarya's father, enacted and voiced two lead roles and one surprise role in the film's climax. Meanwhile Sarath Kumar, Deepika Padukone, Shobana, Aadhi Pinisetty, Jackie Shroff, Nassar, and Rukmini Vijayakumar had also voiced their respective characters. The narrative follows the quest of an 8th-century warrior who seeks revenge after witnessing the unlawful punishment administered to his father, a good-hearted warrior in his kingdom, by the jealous ruler.


title: Kochadaiiyaan

text: The film was the result of a complex development process, starting with the director's idea of directing and co-producing "Sultan: The Warrior" with Eros International in 2007, which was to feature Rajinikanth as a computer animated character. After cancelling the project due to lack of financial support, Soundarya and Eros turned their attention to producing "Rana", which was to be a live-action historical fiction film directed by Ravikumar starring Rajinikanth and Padukone. However, the project was put on hold after Rajinikanth fell ill and uncertainty remained whether "Rana" would resume. In the meantime, producer Dr. J. Murali Manohar felt impressed by Soundarya's draft work on "Sultan" and persuaded her to materialise her directorial ambitions with "Kochadaiiyaan", featuring a plot which leads itself up to the events of "Rana", which was later deciphered as a sequel script to "Kochadaiiyaan". The team agreed and completed filming in two years with Centroid Motion Capture at Pinewood Studios in the United Kingdom using motion capture technology, after which animation work and post-production ensued in the United States, Hong Kong, and China for a year. Music for the film was composed by A. R. Rahman and was performed by the London Session Orchestra. Rahman had been working with Kevin Lima for the later shelved film "Bollywood Superstar Monkey" and was inspired to bring motion capture technology to Indian cinema, hence he was also at the forefront in the film's development.


title: Kochadaiiyaan

text: "Kochadaiiyaan" was promoted as "a tribute to the centennial of Indian cinema" and released worldwide in 3D and for traditional viewing on 23 May 2014 in Tamil and five additional languages, including Hindi, Telugu, Bengali, Marathi and Punjabi. Overall, the film received a mixed critical response worldwide, wherein critics drew comparisons to other films that have used motion capture technology, notably "Avatar" (2009), and noted general discrepancies in the animation. Other aspects of the film, including performances, background score, and screenplay, received acclaim. The film had a large opening in Tamil Nadu and across the world, while a less enthusiastic reception was seen in other parts of India. Though the film fared well in Tamil, it performed poorly in other parts of India, including Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. The film eventually bombed at the box office leaving distributors in huge losses and producers in financial tangle.


title: Kochadaiiyaan

text: Rana, who hails from the kingdom of Kottaipattinam, leaves his family, despite his twin brother Sena pleading with him not to do so. The boy soon meets with an accident while rowing in the river and is eventually discovered by some fishermen from the neighbouring kingdom of Kalingapuri, a rival of Kottaipattinam. Rana grows up, where he trains in weaponry, and be a fearless warrior. Due to his fighting skills and bravery, he soon wins the confidence of the king of Kalingapuri, Raja Mahendran, who promotes him as Commander-in-chief of the Kalingapuri army. The son of Raja Mahendran, Veera Mahendran shows Rana around the kingdom's mine where the captured soldiers of Kottaipattinam work as slaves. Veera says that this information is known only to a few people. After this, Rana promotes a war strategy to Veera that they release the slaves and have them trained in the army of Kalingapuri. Veera agrees and the slaves are freed. He then gets Raja Mahendran's approval to attack Kottaipattinam. However, during the war, Rana encounters his childhood friend, crown prince Sengodagan, the son of Rishikodagan, king of Kottaipattinam. Instead of fighting, it is revealed that the main motive of Rana's plan was to free the soldiers of Kottipattinam. Immediately signalling an end to the war, he, along with the soldiers disown Kalingapuri and return to Kottaipattinam, much to the disgust of Raja Mahendran and his son, crown prince Veera Mahendran, who swear revenge on Rana for tricking them and betraying Kalingapuri.


title: Kochadaiiyaan

text: At Kottaipattinam, Rana and Sengodagan renew their friendship. Sengodagan introduces Rana to Rishikodagan, who is alarmed about seeing him. Rana also reunites with his younger sister Yamuna Devi whom he last saw as a baby and their uncle, who raised her, but soon learns that his mother Yaaghavi is dead and Sena is missing. He soon learns that Yamuna and Sengodagan are in love with each other. He accepts their relationship and decides to get them married. He cleverly convinces Rishikodagan, who is unwilling to get his son married to Yamuna since she is a commoner. Meanwhile, Rana also rekindles his love with his childhood sweetheart, princess Vadhana Devi, the daughter of Rishikodagan. Soon, Sengodagan and Yamuna get married. But following the wedding, Rishikodagan disowns Sengodagan.


title: Kochadaiiyaan

text: That night, a masked man barges into the palace and attempts to kill Rishikodagan. Vadhana immediately goes after him, fights him, and gets him captured. Rishikodagan unmasks the assassin who is revealed to be Rana, and immediately throws him into prison, sentencing him to death. An upset Vadhana rushes to the cell where Rana is imprisoned, where Rana tells her why he attempted to kill Rishikodagan. Rana tells Vadhana that he is the younger son of Kochadaiiyaan, the former Commander-in-Chief of Kottaipattinam's army. Kochadaiiyaan is extremely respected in Kottaipattinam for his bravery and is more popular than Rishikodagan himself.


title: Kochadaiiyaan

text: Due to this, Rishikodagan becomes jealous of Kochadaiiyaan. One night, when Kochadaiiyaan is returning by ship to Kottaipatinam with his army after buying horses and ammunition, they are attacked by the rival army of Kalingapuri. Kochadaiiyaan defeats them but allows them to return to their kingdom as an act of chivalry. However, the Kalingapuri army, before leaving, poisons the food on the ship. The Kottaipattinam army men consume this food, and fall ill. Despite knowing that he had been tricked by the Kalingapuri army, Kochadaiiyaan immediately rushes to Kalingapuri itself, because it is the only land body close enough to provide medicines to the sick and dying soldiers. He orders Raja Mahendran to provide medical assistance to his soldiers. Raja Mahendran, in turn, cunningly proposes a deal that, if he wants his men to be saved, he has to leave all the horses, ammunition, and the sick army men in Kalingapuri as slaves. Only if Kochadaiiyan agrees to this, his soldiers will be nursed back to health. Kochadaiiyan thinks that his men rather be alive as slaves than die from poisoning, and also thinks that when they officially wage a war in the near future, all of them could be easily rescued. So he accepts Raja Mahendran's offer and leaves Kalingapuri all alone. When he returns to Kottaipattinam, the jealous Rishikodagan seizes this opportunity to strip Kochadaiiyan off all respect and dignity and sentences him to death for becoming a traitor to Kottaipattinam because of surrendering his army men, horses, and ammunition to Kalingapuri.


title: Kochadaiiyaan

text: Though all his subjects are dismayed at Kochadaiiyaan being sentenced to death, and his wife Yaaghavi even goes to the extent of publicly rebuking Rishikodagan for his injustice, Rishikodagan stands firm in his decision. Kochadaiiyaan is beheaded the following morning before Rana's eyes. In present, Rana tells Vadhana that he ran away to Kalingapuri, with the intention of freeing the soldiers of Kottaipattinam and to take revenge on Rishikodagan for unjustly killing his father. Vadhana is shocked on hearing about her father's actions and reconciles with Rana. She then pleads with her father to release Rana, but to no avail. Meanwhile, Rana escapes from the prison. When Rishikodagan learns of Rana's escape, he immediately arranges for Vadhana's marriage with prince Veera Mahendran after consulting with an astrologer and learning that his life is at Rana's mercy. Despite the enmity between Kottaipattinam and Kalingapuri, he arranges this marriage with the hope that their united armies and their mutual hatred for Rana can subdue him. On the day of the marriage, Rana arrives just when the marriage is about to take place. He and the people of Kottapattinam berate Rishikodagan for becoming a traitor and surrendering the whole kingdom of Kottaipattinam to Raja Mahendran for his own personal interests and commitments, which was the same charge that Rishikodagan had placed on Kochadaiiyaan years ago.


title: Kochadaiiyaan

text: Following this, a war starts between Rana and the united armies of Kottaipattinam and Kalingapuri. Rana successfully manages to subdue the armies of both kingdoms and along with a majority of Kottaipattinam's army, he kills Raja Mahendran and allows Veera Mahendran to return as he was defeated, reminding him of their friendship. He then fights Rishikodagan and beheads him. Finally, as Rana and Vadhana reunite, a young soldier comes towards them riding a horse. This soldier is revealed to be Sena, who looks surprisingly angered, as their father had asked him to protect the king but Rana had killed him, indicating that a fight awaits.


title: Kochadaiiyaan

text: After the release of "Enthiran" (2010), Rajinikanth approached K. S. Ravikumar to help complete an animation feature that Soundarya Rajinikanth had begun in 2007. The project titled "Sultan: The Warrior" had run into problems with its production and Rajinikanth hoped that they could salvage the project by adding a historical back plot which would make the film partially animation and partially live action. Ravikumar then developed a story for fifteen days with his team of assistants and after being impressed by the script, Rajinikanth felt that Ravikumar's story should be an entirely separate film. Thus the team launched a venture titled "Rana", to be jointly produced by Ocher Picture Productions and Eros International. The film would have featured cinematographer R. Rathnavelu and music would have been composed by A. R. Rahman. Principal photography, began on 29 April 2011. However, during the first schedule of filming, Rajinikanth fell ill on sets and was admitted to hospital where he was treated for dehydration and exhaustion for over a month, resulting in an indefinite postponement of filming. Further attempts for the film to continue production throughout the year failed. On 23 November 2011, for her maiden directorial project, Soundarya tweeted through her Twitter account, notifying followers to watch out for an official announcement. Following the delay, the team considered making "Rana" as an animation film but Rajinikanth was insistent that the film would be a live action film. Film producer Murali Manohar then suggested that an animation film could potentially be a sequel to "Rana" and thus the team began work on "Kochadaiiyaan". A tentatively scheduled release period of August 2012 was also announced.


title: Kochadaiiyaan

text: The film was finalised to be a co-production of Eros Entertainment and Media One Global. Soundarya further stated that Ravikumar had worked with her father and herself on the script of the film. With regards to the film's title, Ravikumar claimed that it drew reference to an alternate name of Hindu deity Shiva, while also being partly inspired by the name of the Pandya Dynasty king Kochadaiyan Ranadhiran, and that the plot would be a fictional account with small references to Indian history. The title's etymology was defined by Vairamuthu who deconstructed it into its root words, which collectively meant "king with a long, curly mane." The director clarified that "Kochadaiiyaan" was not related to the same-titled history series being published by the Tamil magazine "Kumudam". When rumours circulated that the temporarily shelved feature "Rana" was being remade as "Kochadaiiyaan", Ravikumar denied these rumours saying, ""Kochadaiyaan" has nothing to do with Ranadheeran or "Rana"." Latha Rajinikanth also clarified that the film would serve as a prequel to "Rana". In October 2013, the name of the film was changed from "Kochadaiyaan" to "Kochadaiiyaan" on Rajinikanth's request citing numerological reasons.


title: Kochadaiiyaan

text: For the female lead role, Trisha was initially approached, but sources confirmed later that she was not part of the film. It was then rumoured that Asin and Vidya Balan were being considered for the role, since producers preferred a Bollywood actress. Soundarya approached Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif in January 2012, who was not able to clear her schedule for the film and the team reapproached Balan. Despite reports that Kaif was finalised, Deepika Padukone, who was slated to pair with Rajinikanth in "Rana", took up the offer in February 2012, marking her debut in Tamil cinema. Padukone was paid a salary of for shooting only for two days in the film. According to Soundarya, she was "quite relieved to not be wearing make-up for a film for the first time in her career." Although reports of November 2012 suggested that Padukone would dub her own voice for the Tamil version, it was later announced that she would dub only for the Hindi version as the dialogues required authentic Tamil pronunciations. Hence, Savitha Reddy dubbed the voice for Padukone in the Tamil version. In January 2014, it was revealed that Mona Ghosh Shetty had dubbed Padukone's voice for the Hindi version, because the actress was unavailable during the dubbing schedules. Shetty had earlier dubbed for Padukone's debut in "Om Shanti Om" (2007).


title: Kochadaiiyaan

text: The film began to increase its casting profile after Malayalam actor Prithviraj was rumoured to have been signed to play an important role in the film. The rumour was falsified following the inclusion of Aadhi, who was known for his lead-role performances in "Mirugam" and "Eeram", in the cast; when he confirmed his presence in the project, he remarked that working with Rajinikanth was "a realisation of a dream that he has had since childhood". Sneha was reported to be finalised for a supporting role, with the actress confirming her presence in the film in December 2011. She, however, opted-out a couple of months later citing conflicts in her schedule and Rukmini Vijayakumar was signed in her place. R. Sarathkumar accepted Soundarya's offer for an important role in the film while veteran actor Nassar was recruited in the film as well for a supporting role.


title: Kochadaiiyaan

text: Furthermore, Shobana and Lakshmi Manchu were said to be considered for a role in the film. Soundarya confirmed that the former was added to the cast saying that she was the "only choice for the role" as the character was written keeping her in mind. Soundarya disclaimed the rumour that Aishwarya Rai was chosen to do a guest appearance in the film. Bollywood actor Jackie Shroff was also approached for an antagonistic role. Shroff immediately gave his consent, when the cast and the technical scope of "Kochadaiiyaan" were revealed to him. Reports claimed that the film would feature late actors like Nagesh, P. S. Veerappa, M. N. Nambiar, S. A. Ashokan, and R. S. Manohar recreated through sophisticated animation techniques, although it was later revealed that only Nagesh was recreated for the film. According to Soundarya, "The biggest triumph for "Kochadaiiyaan" was bringing back late comedy actor Nagesh to the screen."


title: Kochadaiiyaan

text: Peter Hein was chosen as the film's action choreographer, while A. R. Rahman agreed to compose the film's background score and soundtrack. Soundarya chose Saroj Khan, Raju Sundaram, Chinni Prakash and his wife Surekha Chinni Prakash, and Sivashankar to choreograph the songs. Soundarya invited art professionals to send their work as she was forming an art department for "Kochadaiiyaan". She chose 42 students from the Government College of Fine Arts, Chennai for the task, besides 50 experienced persons from the Jacob College of Fine Arts. 60 concept artistes were already reportedly working for the film.


title: Kochadaiiyaan

text: Neeta Lulla worked on the looks of each character, including the lead role portrayed by Rajinikanth. According to Lulla, the project required a lot of research. Around 150 costumes per character were designed on paper and out of those, 25 costumes were selected and detailed. She also created a range of 20 to 30 looks especially for Rajinikanth's suit of armour as well as the supporting cast of "Kochadaiiyaan". Lulla, along with the team working on the costumes, created the looks of all characters on the sketch. They had worked for about eight months on the various characterisations of Rajinikanth and the supporting cast. According to her, "It was a different kind of design experience altogether".


title: Kochadaiiyaan

text: On Rajinikanth's looks, Soundarya quoted: "First, we scanned his face and made a 3D model to get the exact precision of his features, such as the scar on his nose. And then we corrected the 3D model by tightening his skin to make him look 25 years younger. They used that technology in the film ""." The youthfulness of the look was compared to the looks that Rajinikanth carried in his film "Muthu". Soundarya also claimed that Rajinikanth's hairstyle in the film was inspired by his appearance in his earlier film, "Thalapathi".


title: Kochadaiiyaan

text: Resul Pookutty is the sound designer for the film. He worked over two and a half years on the sound design of the film. Three teams of sound editors were working in Los Angeles, Mumbai, and Chennai under him. The final phase of re-recording was done in Chennai at A. R. Rahman's studio during end-March 2014. In an interview with "The Hindu" he quoted, "For the war sequence, we got 150 people scream like how they would in a war and recorded the sound. I went to fortresses and collected samples of how sound resonates. Based on the impulse response data, we recreated the acoustics of a durbar." Pookutty started working from the scratch instead of using available sound samples. He added that when his team started working on the foley (ambient sounds) he told the film director to provide him with the exact costumes used whilst filming. However, realising that the filming was done using performance capture technology, the entire set of costumes were designed to provide requisite foley. He also paid attention to nuances extensively where he added, "For instance, the image you see on screen is a composite of several layers of images. The clothes, the movement, the swords and so on were created separately and put together. My team also had to add sound, layer by layer."


title: Kochadaiiyaan

text: The film posters showed that the film would use performance capturing technology, which was used in films such as "Avatar" and "". During production, "Kochadaiiyaan" was the first Indian film to use the technology. However, "Maattraan", another Tamil feature, which also made use of the technology, was released before "Kochadaiiyaan", making it the second Indian film to use the technology. K. S. Ravikumar, story writer of the film, announced that the filming would commence from 15 January 2012. The first schedule of indoor shooting started with Rajinikanth's base actions being filmed as per the motion capturing norms.


title: Kochadaiiyaan

text: The film was launched with a formal puja on 19 January 2012 at the Ganesha temple located inside AVM Studios in Vadapalani, Chennai. The first phase of production began in Chennai on 15 March 2012. It was then moved to London on 17 March 2012, where motion capture filming was done at Centroid Motion Picture lab in Pinewood Studios Production in London lasted for 15 days, during which, Rajinikanth announced that the film might be released for Diwali 2012. After completing the first phase of production in London, the crew returned to Chennai on 2 April 2012. The next schedule of the film shooting was planned at various locations in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Filming in Los Angeles took place at CounterPunch Studios.


title: Kochadaiiyaan

text: The second phase of production began at the Chitranjali Studio in Thiruvananthapuram. Although initial reports claimed that production had moved to Mohanlal's Vismayas Max studio, it was later reported that shooting never took place at that studio. It instead happened at Accel Animation Studios, where the crew shot scenes which they were unable to complete during their schedule in London. The second phase was completed on 30 April 2012, after which a romantic song choreographed by Saroj Khan was filmed in early May 2012. It was said that the entire film shooting would be completed in the second schedule itself and the post-production work would begin. However, the team was off with the lead actor to Hong Kong for the third schedule of the film on 12 May 2012 where some crucial scenes and combat scenes featuring the lead actor and the antagonist were shot at the State of the Arts Gallery studio. Since the film was shot using performance capture technology, 48 cameras were used to shoot each and every scene. The 48 cameras captured performance of artistes' at 48 angles. "Kochadaiiyaan" was equipped with Auro 3D sound technology. As per reports, due to involvement of extensive graphics, four separate teams, including teams from Chennai and London were also working on the film. On 20 February 2013 the director announced through Twitter that "Kochadaiiyaan" was in the process of being finalised. On 28 February 2013 the final edited version of the film was screened by the director, writer and the lead actor along with handful crew members. As the filming was done using motion capture technology, the Tandav dance in the song "Engal Kochadaiiyaan" was performed by dancer Yuvraaj Jayakumar. The dance was shot in as early as in 2010, and was initially intended for the shelved "Sultan: The Warrior". The genre of the same was neither western nor Indian but a contemporary dance form.


title: Kochadaiiyaan

text: The soundtrack and background score of the film was composed by A. R. Rahman, who was initially hesitant to work on the project but started after he felt the "positive energy and the commitment". The rights to the soundtrack album were sold to Sony Music Entertainment in August 2012. British music engineer Geoff Foster was involved in mixing 200 tracks of orchestra for "Kochadaiiyaan". The track "Engae Pogudho Vaanam" was released on 7 October 2013 as a single, along with its Telugu version "Choodham Aakasam Antham" to positive response. On 9 March 2014, the original version as well as the Telugu version of the album were released at Sathyam Cinemas in Royapettah, Chennai. The album gained the top position on the iTunes charts in India within hours of its release. Meanwhile, ""Kochadaiiyaan"" became a top trending topic on Twitter in India, making it a first for a Tamil film. The song "Maattram Ondrudhaan Maaraadhadhu" was the chart topping track from the album at almost every music charts of South India


title: Kochadaiiyaan

text: Initially, the film was set for a November 2012 release in India. The film was then planned to be released in January 2013 coinciding with Pongal however the release date was postponed. In course of time, it was postponed multiple times due to various enhancement schedules and extensive post-production work. A final release date was announced for 9 May 2014, but was yet again pushed to 23 May 2014. On this delay, Eros International clarified that there was a surge of demand for an additional 200 prints (multiple language release, 2D and 3D versions of the film) for as many screens all over the world that was to be met in just two days prior to the release as the response to advance booking was extraordinary. An estimated 125,000 tickets were sold out within two hours in Chennai alone when the release was set on 9 May 2014. Furthermore, producer Sunanda Murali Manohar attributed the delay to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), which unexpectedly went on to certify all language versions separately.


title: Kochadaiiyaan

text: In March 2013, the distribution rights for the film in the United States were sold to ATMUS Entertainment while Hyderabad-based Lakshmy Ganapathy Films purchased the distribution rights of "Vikramasimha", the film's Telugu version. In July 2012, Jaya TV bought the film's television broadcast rights for an undisclosed sum. A song titled "Koottam Seru, Kosham Podu" was released on 7 May 2014 to celebrate the release of "Kochadaiiyaan".


title: Kochadaiiyaan

text: "Kochadaiiyaan" was released over 3,000 screens in overseas markets. The Telugu version had hit more than 50 screens in the United States. In the US, out of 103 screens, 88 screens had the Tamil 3D version whereas rest of the number with 2D. The original and its Telugu version in 3D and 2D versions had subtitles, were confirmed for a release on 22 May 2013 in overseas markets. Kajani Movies and PSK Movies, both these distributors confirmed the screen count as 20 in Switzerland


title: Kochadaiiyaan

text: In Malaysia, only LFS State 2 Cineplex in Petaling Jaya was showing the 3D version of the film, while other cinemas were screening it in 2D; the movie was released in more than 77 screens. The highest for any Indian movie released in Malaysia, beating the previous record held by Singam II. In Chennai, as of 2014, AGS Entertainment equipped four screens at its multiplex on Rajiv Gandhi Salai with the latest passive 3D systems and 2K projectors with Harkness silver screens. Sathyam Cinemas will open the film in five of its multiplexes and has planned to sell around 15,000 tickets. AGS Cinemas had screened the film in 3D at three screens at its Villivakkam multiplex and four screens at its OMR multiplex, unleashing 10,000 tickets on the opening day. A release in Japan is being planned as of 2014.


title: Kochadaiiyaan

text: The first trailer of the film was all set to be screened at 66th annual Cannes Film Festival in mid-May 2013, however it was delayed due to Soundarya's dissatisfaction over the final cut of the trailer. The first teaser trailer was released digitally on 9 September 2013, coinciding with Ganesh Chaturthi to mixed response; while fans of Rajinikanth were satisfied, others criticised it for its "poor visual effects". It was also noted for its similarities to the teaser trailer of Soundarya's shelved animation venture "Sultan the Warrior", that was also supposed to feature Rajinikanth. Nevertheless, it was viewed over 1 million times on a single day, establishing it as one of the most anticipated film teasers in the history of Tamil cinema. Soundarya also announced that a second trailer would be released, which would feature Padukone prominently, and unlike the first trailer, it would have sound and dialogues. The trailer was released in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi on 9 March 2014, the same day of the audio launch.


title: Kochadaiiyaan

text: In 2012, the producers struck a deal with Karbonn Mobiles, an Indian telecommunication firm that will involve "Kochadaiiyaan" merchandise worth with screen savers and images from the film along with the trailer, behind the scenes shots, the signature tune of the film and lead actor's signature on the back cover of phones. However, delays in the film caused the clause to be modified. Sudhir Hasija, chairman of Karbonn, said, "We will roll out a million handsets by February-end or first week of March 2014 with a pre-loaded app for the movie. All the handsets will come with the signature of Rajinikanth. This is the first time any mobile handset maker is launching products with an augmented reality app." The promotional tactic is an extension of Eros' alliance with Karbonn, wherein the latter will make a million special-edition phones. A company called InGage Technologies have done its complete development. Using augmented reality, they set interactive Kochadaiiyaan hoardings in association with Karbonn Mobiles. Eros has deployed 500 interactive hoardings across India. People will have to stand in front of the hoarding and send an SMS to activate the hoarding. Karbonn stated that an estimate of 400 hoardings would be put up across the country, majority in southern states of India. Hoardings and banners of the film will be displayed at 3,650 Bharat Petroleum stations across South India.


title: Kochadaiiyaan

text: On 21 April 2013, Soundarya revealed a first fully 3D rendered picture, which shows Rajinikanth in two different avatars. It was also announced that a "making-of-the-movie" video would be released, where a song featuring Rajinikanth's voice would be used. It was shown nearly a year later on 9 March 2014 to the audience of the music launch event. In mid-March 2014, the franchise was expanded further as Hungama Digital Media Entertainment and Gameshastra launched two mobile games based on the film available for download on mobile platforms, called "Kochadaiiyaan: Kingdom Run" and "Kochadaiiyan: Reign of Arrows". By mid-May 2014, the games surpassed the mark of one million downloads across the iOS App Store, Google Play and Windows Phone Store.


title: Kochadaiiyaan

text: iPlay's director Rave Shankar and his team had approached the film's producers to screen the theatrical trailer in 5-D format at Phoenix Market City Mall in Velachery, Chennai. The producers provided the 3-D print of the trailer at no cost. Shankar and his team worked for about 10 days to get the synchronisation of the chair movements, sprayings, and light effects for the trailer. The experience for viewers was defined such that the chairs quake and rumble as the scenes of war appear and wet sprays are sprinkled on the audience when the character "Kochadaiiyaan" rides on a dolphin in the trailer.


title: Kochadaiiyaan

text: "Kochadaiiyaan" received mixed reviews from critics worldwide, it was heavily criticised for substandard motion capture animation and rendering, but acclaim for all other aspects of the film, mainly the story, writing, music, designs, and performances, especially that of Rajinikanth in his first-ever film of such a complex format.


title: Kochadaiiyaan

text: Critic Taran Adarsh for "Bollywood Hungama" wrote, "On the whole, the absorbing screenplay and the technology make Kochaaiiyaan an interesting fare. For the legion of Rajinikanth fans, this film is definitely worth a watch. Recommended!" He gave the film 3.5 stars (out of 5). M. Suganth of "The Times of India" gave the film 3.5 stars out of 5 and noted, "Kochadiiyaan succeeds not because of technology but because of the writing. The film is motion capture 3D computer-animated but the animation is primeval. There is also inconsistency in the animation. Like any other Rajini movie, Kochadaiiyaan too worships its star. His character appears in almost every scene and there are fan-pleasing moments in the form of stylistic gestures and dialogues." Critic Komal Nahta through is official publishing summarised, "On the whole, Kochadaiiyaan – The Legend does not have much for the Hindi film-going audience and will, therefore, not fare well at the box-office. However, its Tamil version has the potential to prove a big hit because of the demi-God status enjoyed by Rajinikanth among the Tamil-speaking audience and also due to the novelty factor." Critical review board of "Behindwoods" assigned a score of 3.5 out of 5 and stated, "Soundarya and team have taken a brave first step and we only have to hope that future attempts in this line, have incremental improvements. Soundarya's project management skills are exceptional and this being just her first film; her capabilities at pulling off such a film are truly praise-worthy."


title: Kochadaiiyaan

text: Critic at "Sify" praised the director Soundarya Rajinikanth's work stating, "It is a testament to one girl's ambition, imagination and courage to make India's first photo-realistic, 3D." Further wrote, "After watching the film, one gets the feel that there is more to it than just the animation". At "Deccan Chronicle", Thinkal Menon gave the film 3.5 stars (out of 5) and stated, "Unsurprisingly, the brand name 'Rajini' has proved for the umpteenth time that his face value alone could carry a movie on his shoulders. 'Kochadaiiyaan' has embraced technology in the best possible way, not to forget this being the very first attempt." Rachit Gupta at "Filmfare" gave a bottom line—"Technical snags can't stop Rajinikanth from entertaining". He praised the director stating, "As director Soundarya Rajinikanth Ashwin puts it in a pre-movie build up scene, it's homage to 100 Years of Indian Cinema. It's an ode from possibly the biggest star of Indian movies to the Indian film industry and its fans. It's a celebratory mark to all that we've come to love and respect in our films. If you are Rajini fan, you have a treat in stored in the climax. There's promise of a kickass sequel too. All said and done, for best results take it all with a pinch of salt." Ritika Handoo of "Zee News" gave the film 3.5 stars (out of 5) and felt, "After watching a folklore turned into a 3D computer-animated photo-realistic motion picture format, all we can say is – this is a tribute to 'Thalaiva'!"


title: Kochadaiiyaan

text: Critic Subhash K. Jha for "Indo Asian News Service" gave the film 3.5 stars (out of 5) and stated that only "Yes, Rajnikanth roars again. Never mind if the lion is computer-generated. The superstar returns in a stylish never-before avatar conceived and executed by the star's daughter who is an unabashed fan."


title: Kochadaiiyaan

text: Rajeev Masand for "CNN-IBN" wrote, "The problem with "Kochadaiiyaan" is clear. The focus here isn't on telling a compelling story, but on celebrating the legend with these larger-than-life incarnations. As a result, the film will likely appeal to all hardcore fans of Thalaivar, but may leave most others cold. I'm going with two out of five for Kochadaiiyaan. This one's strictly for fans." At "The Indian Express" critic Shubhra Gupta summarised in negative—"Even Rajinikanth, the one and the only, can't pick up a film and run with it, if it has the oldest, creakiest plots cobbled together from many books." The critic gave the film 1.5 stars (out of 5). Mihir Fadnavis at "Firstpost" called the film "A disaster from start to finish". He didn't assign any score to the film and felt that "CGI in Kochadaiiyaan can only be described as loose motion capture." Raja Sen of "Rediff" gave the film 1 star out of 5 and ranted, "Rajinikanth's Kochadaiiyaan is a bad puppet show, alas, is a fundamentally flawed dud, one without anything to applaud besides grand (if self-glorifying) ambition. And little is as heartbreaking to witness as utterly failed ambition. This is a loud, unforgivably tacky production, handicapped not merely by substandard animation but a complete lack of imagination.." Baradwaj Rangan of "The Hindu" wrote "Kochadaiiyaan is truly history-making in a sense, because this is the first time that a huge star has allowed himself to be the hero in a full-length animated feature. Walking out, you may find yourself wondering: Did it have to be Rajinikanth?".


title: Kochadaiiyaan

text: Sneha May Francis, writing for "Emirates 24/7", praised the film stating, "Despite the lack of technical finesse, the filmmaker deserves to be applauded for taking a step towards innovation and change, and setting the ground work for "Rana"". However she remarked, "Rajinikanth dazzles in "Kochadaiiyaan" with master strokes. It is his physical presence that the audience will miss in the epic drama." Manjusha Radhakrishnan of "Gulf News" said, ""Kochadaiiyaan" might have taken a small step towards introducing "Avatar"-like technology into our lives, but it's no giant leap. If you have blind faith and (obsessive) love for Rajinikanth and all things animation, you may enjoy this film. For others it may prove a battle to remain glued to your seats." and rated the film 2 out of 5.


title: Kochadaiiyaan

text: J Hurtado of "Twitch Film" said, "Nearly all of the animated characters suffered from the same problems. Dead eyes, wonky animation, poor rendering, often they even appeared slightly out of focus on the screen. Glitches, perhaps, but the curious thing is that none of those issues affected Rajnikanth's appearance." He added, "I've been waiting for "Kochadaiiyaan" for years, since the film was a rumor, but with all of the hype, delays, and eventual disappointing final product, I feel that my enthusiasm was at best wasted and at worst betrayed. Rajnikanth is an international treasure, a film hero like none ever seen, and "Kochadaiiyaan" is a project beneath his abilities and less than he deserves." Abraham Richard of "Times of Oman" felt, "Despite the technical flaws Rajni and Soundarya deserve to be applauded for their daring effort and initiative for trying to push the industry to the next level. Whatever said and done this movie is worth a watch especially for the efforts put in. "Kochadaiiyaan" will make a mark in the history of film making in India as this is the first time that a huge star has allowed himself to be a hero in a full-length animated movie.


title: Kochadaiiyaan

text: The Tamil version opened to what the Deccan Chronicle and Bollywood Hungama identified as packed houses. The film's Telugu version "Vikramasimha" was released in the state of Andhra Pradesh in 700 theatres, far more than in Tamil Nadu where it released in 450 theatres, In Bangalore, the film released in the Tamil, Hindi and Telugu versions and while the Hindi and Telugu versions hardly had an audience and were removed from theatres after a week, the Tamil version did well. The film had very few shows outside the metros. At theatrical centres in North like Jaipur, Kanpur and Lucknow have very few screenings. The release was much strong in Mumbai and Pune where screens were relatively greater. The film collected in Chennai in fourth weekend. The film collected in India and in overseas."Kochadaiiyaan" on its opening weekend had collected a total amount, estimate gross worldwide. The film was declared a hit at the box office in Tamil, while the Telugu version settled with an average verdict, and the Hindi and remaining versions being declared as failures. it had bumper opening weekend and grossed but the hype slowly faded and the film eventually bombed at the box office leaving distributors in huge losses.


title: AIDA (marketing)

text: The AIDA model is just one of a class of models known as "hierarchy of effects" models or "hierarchical models", all of which imply that consumers move through a series of steps or stages when they make purchase decisions. These models are linear, sequential models built on an assumption that consumers move through a series of cognitive (thinking) and affective (feeling) stages culminating in a behavioural (doing e.g. purchase or trial) stage.


title: AIDA (marketing)

text: Some of the contemporary variants of the model replace "attention" with "awareness". The common thread among all hierarchical models is that advertising operates as a stimulus (S) and the purchase decision is a response (R). In other words, the AIDA model is an applied stimulus-response model. A number of hierarchical models can be found in the literature including Lavidge's hierarchy of effects, DAGMAR and variants of AIDA. Hierarchical models have dominated advertising theory, and, of these models, the AIDA model is one of the most widely applied.


title: AIDA (marketing)

text: As consumers move through the hierarchy of effects they pass through both a cognitive processing stage and an affective processing stage before any action occurs. Thus the hierarchy of effects models all include Cognition (C)- Affect (A)- Behaviour (B) as the core steps in the underlying behavioral sequence. Some texts refer to this sequence as Learning → Feeling → Doing or C-A-B (cognitive -affective-behavioral) models.


title: AIDA (marketing)

text: The basic AIDA model is one of the longest serving hierarchical models, having been in use for more than a century. Using a hierarchical system, such as AIDA, provides the marketer with a detailed understanding of how target audiences change over time, and provides insights as to which types of advertising messages are likely to be more effective at different junctures. Moving from step to step, the total number of prospects diminishes. This phenomenon is sometimes described as a "purchase funnel". A relatively large number of potential purchasers become aware of a product or brand, then a smaller subset becomes interested, with only a relatively small proportion moving through to the actual purchase. This effect is also known as a "customer funnel", "marketing funnel", or "sales funnel".


title: AIDA (marketing)

text: The model is also used extensively in selling and advertising. According to the original model, "the steps to be taken by the seller at each stage are as follows:


title: AIDA (marketing)

text: A major deficiency of the AIDA model and other hierarchical models is the absence of post-purchase effects such as satisfaction, consumption, repeat patronage behaviour and other post-purchase behavioural intentions such as referrals or participating in the preparation of online product reviews. Other criticisms include the model's reliance on a linear nature, hierarchical sequence. In empirical studies, the model has been found to be a poor predictor of actual consumer behaviour. In addition, an extensive review of the literature surrounding advertising effects, carried out by Vakratsas and Ambler found little empirical support for the hierarchical models.


title: AIDA (marketing)

text: Another important criticism of the hierarchical models include their reliance on the concept of a linear, hierarchical response process. Indeed, some research suggests that consumers process promotional information via dual pathways, namely both cognitive (thinking) and affective (feeling) simultaneously. This insight has led to the development of a class of alternative models, known as "integrative models."


title: AIDA (marketing)

text: In order to redress some of the model's deficiencies, a number of contemporary hierarchical models have modified or expanded the basic AIDA model. Some of these include post purchase stages, while other variants feature adaptations designed to accommodate the role of new, digital and interactive media, including social media and brand communities. However, all follow the basic sequence which includes Cognition- Affect- Behaviour.


title: AIDA (marketing)

text: The term, AIDA and the overall approach are commonly attributed to American advertising and sales pioneer, E. St. Elmo Lewis. In one of his publications on advertising, Lewis postulated at least three principles to which an advertisement should conform:


title: AIDA (marketing)

text: On January 6, 1910 Lewis gave a talk in Rochester on the topic "Is there a science back of advertising?" in which he said:


title: AIDA (marketing)

text: The importance of attracting the attention of the reader as the first step in copy writing was recognized early in the advertising literature as is shown by the "Handbook for Advertisers and Guide to Advertising":


title: AIDA (marketing)

text: A precursor to Lewis was Joseph Addison Richards (1859–1928), an advertising agent from New York City who succeeded his father in the direction of one of the oldest advertising agencies in the United States. In 1893, Richards wrote an advertisement for his business containing virtually all steps from the AIDA model, but without hierarchically ordering the individual elements:


title: AIDA (marketing)

text: Between December 1899 and February 1900, the Bissell Carpet Sweeper Company organized a contest for the best written advertisement. Fred Macey, chairman of the Fred Macey Co. in Grand Rapids (Michigan), who was considered an advertising expert at that time, was assigned the task to examine the submissions to the company. In arriving at a decision, he considered inter alia each advertisement in the following respect:


title: AIDA (marketing)

text: The first published instance of the general concept, however, was in an article by Frank Hutchinson Dukesmith (1866–1935) in 1904. Dukesmith's four steps were attention, interest, desire, and conviction. The first instance of the AIDA acronym was in an article by C. P. Russell in 1921 where he wrote:


title: AIDA (marketing)

text: The model's usefulness was not confined solely to advertising. The basic principles of the AIDA model were widely adopted by sales representatives who used the steps to prepare effective sales presentations following the publication, in 1911, of Arthur Sheldon's book, "Successful Selling." To the original model, Sheldon added "satisfaction" to stress the importance of repeat patronage.


title: AIDA (marketing)

text: AIDA is a linchpin of the Promotional part of the 4Ps of the Marketing mix, the mix itself being a key component of the model connecting customer needs through the organisation to the marketing decisions.


title: AIDA (marketing)

text: The marketing and advertising literature has spawned a number of hierarchical models. In a survey of more than 250 papers, Vakratsas and Ambler (1999) found little empirical support for any of the hierarchies of effects. In spite of that criticism, some authors have argued that hierarchical models continue to dominate theory, especially in the area of marketing communications and advertising.


title: AIDA (marketing)

text: All hierarchy of effects models exhibit several common characteristics. Firstly, they are all linear, sequential models built on an assumption that consumers move through a series of steps or stages involving cognitive, affective and behavioral responses that culminate in a purchase. Secondly, all hierarchy of effects models can be reduced to three broad stages - Cognitive→ Affective (emotions)→Behavioral (CAB).


title: AIDA (marketing)

text: Recent modifications of the AIDA model have expanded the number of steps. Some of these modifications have been designed to accommodate theoretical developments, by including customer satisfaction (e.g. the AIDAS model) while other alternative models seek to accommodate changes in the external environment such as the rise of social media (e.g. the AISDALSLove model).


title: AIDA (marketing)

text: In the AISDALSLove model, new phases are 'Search' (after Interest), the phase when consumers actively searching information about brand/ product, 'Like/dislike' (after Action) as one of elements in the post-purchase phase, then continued with 'Share' (consumers will share their experiences about brand to other consumers) and the last is 'Love/hate' (a deep feeling towards branded product, that can become the long-term effect of advertising) which new elements such as Search, Like/dislike (evaluation), Share and Love/hate as long-term effects have also been added. Finally, S – 'Satisfaction' – is added to suggest the likelihood that a customer might become a repeat customer, provide positive referrals or engage in other brand advocacy behaviors following purchase.


title: AIDA (marketing)

text: Other theorists, including Christian Betancur (2014) and Rossiter and Percy (1985) have proposed that "need recognition" should be included as the initial stage of any hierarchical model. Betancur, for example, has proposed a more complete process: NAITDASE model (in Spanish: NAICDASE). Betancur's model begins with the identification of a Need (the consumer's perception of an opportunity or a problem). Following the Attention and Interest stages, consumers form feelings of Trust (i.e., Confidence). Without trust, customers are unlikely to move forward towards the Desire and Action stages of the process. Purchase is not the end stage in this model, as this is not the goal of the client; therefore, the final two stages are the Satisfaction of previously identified and agreed needs and the Evaluation by the customer about the whole process. If positive, it will repurchase and recommend to others (Customer's loyalty).


title: AIDA (marketing)

text: In Betancur's model, trust is a key element in the purchase process, and must be achieved through important elements including:


title: AIDA (marketing)

text: Trust (or Confidence) is the glue that bonds society and makes solid and reliable relations of each one other.


title: AIDA (marketing)

text: In the film "Glengarry Glen Ross" by David Mamet, the character Blake (played by Alec Baldwin) makes a speech where the AIDA model is visible on a chalkboard in the scene. A minor difference between the fictional account of the model and the model as it is commonly used is that the "A" in Blake's motivational talk is defined as "attention" rather than "awareness" and the "D" as "decision" rather than "desire."


title: Murder of Jessica Lunsford

text: Jessica Marie Lunsford (October 6, 1995 – February 24, 2005) was an American nine-year-old girl from Homosassa, Florida, who was murdered in February 2005. Lunsford was abducted from her home in the early morning of February 24, 2005, by John Couey, a 46-year-old convicted sex offender who lived nearby. Couey held her captive over the weekend, during which she was raped and later murdered by being buried alive. The media extensively covered the investigation and trial of Couey.


title: Murder of Jessica Lunsford

text: Jessica Lunsford's murder influenced the introduction of legislation in Florida known as Jessica's Law, designed to protect potential victims and reduce a sexual offender's ability to re-offend, which has since influenced similar legislation in 42 other states.


title: Murder of Jessica Lunsford

text: On August 24, 2007, a judge in Inverness convicted Couey for the kidnapping, sexual battery, and first degree murder of Lunsford, and sentenced him to death. However, Couey died of natural causes in 2009, before his sentence could be carried out.


title: Murder of Jessica Lunsford

text: Nine-year-old Jessica Lunsford disappeared in the night on February 24, 2005, from her home in Homosassa, Florida. After approximately three weeks of intense searching for her around the area of her home, John Evander Couey was arrested in Savannah, Georgia, for an outstanding warrant of cannabis possession, but was released after questioning because it was only a local warrant. Couey was a 46-year-old long-time resident of Homosassa with an extensive criminal record, listing dozens of arrests for burglary and was a convicted child sex offender. Due to the laws at the time, Couey received only short sentences and was not monitored after release, despite his record of being an experienced trespasser and his repeated sexual offenses against children.


title: Murder of Jessica Lunsford

text: On March 12, Couey was arrested in Augusta, Georgia, at the request of the Citrus County Sheriff's Office, for questioning about Jessica Lunsford's disappearance due to his residence on West Snowbird Court in Homosassa, only 65 yards from the Lunsford's home, and his criminal record. Couey stated he did not have anything to do with the nine-year-old's disappearance and had moved to Georgia to find a job, only knowing about it from the television news. He was released from police custody after being interviewed.


title: Murder of Jessica Lunsford

text: On March 14, Couey's half-sister Dorothy Dixon gave permission to police to search her trailer at West Snowbird Court in Homosassa. Couey had lived at the West Snowbird Court residence with Dixon, her boyfriend Matt Dittrich, her daughter and son–in-law, Madie and Gene Secord, and her two-year-old grandson, Joshua. During the search a blood-stained mattress and pillows were found in Couey's closet in his room, and forensic analysis discovered both Couey's and Lunsford's DNA on the mattress.


title: Murder of Jessica Lunsford

text: On March 17, Couey was arrested and charged with the murder of Jessica Lunsford, and transported to the Citrus County jail in Florida.


title: Murder of Jessica Lunsford

text: On March 18, 2005, Couey made an audio-recorded and videotaped confession to having kidnapped, raped and murdered Lunsford.


title: Murder of Jessica Lunsford

text: In his confession, Couey said that he had previously seen Lunsford playing in her yard and thought she was "about six years old". On the night of the abduction, Couey had intended to just burglarize the Lunsfords' home, but saw Jessica and "acted on impulse and he took her". He entered Lunsford's house at about three o'clock in the morning through an unlocked door, awakened Lunsford, told her "Don't yell or nothing", and told her to follow him out of the house. At the time, he occupied a trailer along with two women, about away. Couey admitted to raping Lunsford in his bedroom, keeping her in his bed that evening, and raping her again in the morning. Couey put her in his closet and ordered her to remain there as he reported for work at "Billy's Truck Lot", which she did. Three days after he abducted her, Couey tricked Jessica into getting into two garbage bags by saying he was going to "take her home". He instead buried her alive as he decided he could do nothing else with the girl.


title: Murder of Jessica Lunsford

text: On March 19, police found nine-year-old Jessica Lunsford's body at the residence on West Snowbird Court in Homosassa, buried in a plastic bag in a hole approximately deep and circular, covered with leaves. Lunsford's body was removed from the ground and transported to the coroner's office, where it was recorded to have undergone "moderate" to "severe" decomposition. According to the publicly released autopsy reports, Lunsford had poked two fingers through the bags before suffocating to death, and the fingers had skeletonized. The coroner ruled that death would have happened even in best circumstances within 2–3 minutes from lack of oxygen.


title: Murder of Jessica Lunsford

text: After the discovery of Lunsford's body at the residence, Dixon stated that a week earlier she had given Couey money for a bus ticket, and that he had telephoned her to say he had moved to Savannah, Georgia. Additionally, Dixon and the other residents of the trailer claimed to have never seen Lunsford at the home or noticed anything strange from Couey's room, which had not been used since he was last there.


title: Murder of Jessica Lunsford

text: On June 30, 2006, a judge ruled that Couey's confession was inadmissible in court because when it was recorded police had not granted Couey's requests for a lawyer, thereby rendering the confession invalid and unreliable under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments of the United States Constitution. Over Couey's objection, the trial court ruled that all evidence collected after the confession, including the recovery of Lunsford's body, would be admitted, as would incriminating statements allegedly made by Couey to investigators and a jail guard.


title: Murder of Jessica Lunsford

text: The trial was moved to Miami after officials were unable to seat an impartial jury in Citrus County where the trial was first scheduled to be held.


title: Murder of Jessica Lunsford

text: On March 7, 2007, Couey was found guilty of all charges in relation to Lunsford's death, including first degree murder, kidnapping, burglary with assault or battery upon any person, and capital sexual battery. The jury deliberated for four hours, tasked with recommending either life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty, the only two possible sentences available under Florida law. A week later, after about one hour and 15 minutes of deliberation, a jury recommended Couey be put to death. The case was appealed to the Florida Supreme Court.


title: Murder of Jessica Lunsford

text: On August 11, 2007, a jury overseeing the Lunsford case voted 10-2 that Couey be eligible for the death sentence. Defense for Couey argued that he had suffered from a lifetime of emotional abuse and had a below normal IQ, which would enable him to avoid a death sentence under a 2002 Supreme Court ruling prohibiting the execution of mentally handicapped people. However, the most credible intelligence test rated Couey's IQ at 78, above the standard accepted level of intellectual disability, which is 70.


title: Murder of Jessica Lunsford

text: On August 24, 2007, Couey was sentenced to death, in addition to three consecutive life sentences. However, on September 30, 2009, before the sentences could be carried out, Couey died of natural causes.


title: Murder of Jessica Lunsford

text: Following her death, her father, Mark Lunsford, pursued new legislation to provide more stringent tracking of released sex offenders. The Jessica Lunsford Act was named after her. It requires tighter restrictions on sex offenders (such as wearing electronic tracking devices) and increased prison sentences for some convicted sex offenders. "Jessica's Law" refers to similar reform acts initiated by other states.


title: Murder of Jessica Lunsford

text: On February 19, 2008, almost three years to the day after her kidnapping and murder, Jessica's father was represented by Jacksonville, Florida lawyers in a pre-trial brief filed against the Citrus County Sheriff's Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. After receiving notice of the pending suit, Citrus County Sheriff Jeff Dawsy stated that he believed the case to be "baseless... There is only one person in the world that should be held responsible for Jessica Lunsford's death and that's John Couey."


title: Murder of Jessica Lunsford

text: Following complaints and suggestions from Citrus County residents that the pending litigation was being pursued out of greed and that had he been a better father his child may still be alive, Mark Lunsford and Jacksonville-based attorneys Eric Block and Mark Gelman held a news conference in Jacksonville, where it was stated that the pending litigation was "not for the money... but for change." Lunsford stated that changes were needed in procedures and policies. It is alleged that Couey had Jessica Lunsford alive in the trailer while Citrus County officials visited the trailer, that police dogs indicated Jessica was being held in the direction of the trailer and were ignored, that Citrus County officials actively pursued Mark Lunsford's father as their prime suspect while evidence pointed elsewhere, and that had Citrus County officials followed up on an outstanding warrant issued by Georgia, that Citrus County officials could have entered Couey's residence and possibly saved the child.


title: Murder of Jessica Lunsford

text: Mark Lunsford becoming an activist for children's rights after the murder of his daughter Jessica is the subject of the 2011 documentary film, "Jessie's Dad".


title: Murder of Jessica Lunsford

text: The abduction of Jessica Lunsford was covered in 2013 on the TV series "FBI: Criminal Pursuit" in the episode "Lurking Menace".


title: Medford, Oregon

text: Medford is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Oregon, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census on April 1, 2020, the city had a total population of 85,824 and a metropolitan area population of 223,259, making the Medford MSA the fourth largest metro area in Oregon. The city was named in 1883 by David Loring, civil engineer and right-of-way agent for the Oregon and California Railroad, after Medford, Massachusetts, which was near Loring's hometown of Concord, Massachusetts. Medford is near the middle ford of Bear Creek.


title: Medford, Oregon

text: In 1883, a group of railroad surveyors headed by S. L. Dolson and David Loring arrived in Rock Point, near present-day Gold Hill. They were charged with finding the best route through the Rogue Valley for the Oregon and California Railroad. Citizens of neighboring Jacksonville hoped that it would pass between their town and "Hanley Butte", near the present day Claire Hanley Arboretum. Such a move would have all but guaranteed prosperous growth for Jacksonville, but Dolson decided instead to stake the railroad closer to Bear Creek. The response from Jacksonville was mixed, but the decision was final. By November 1883, a depot site had been chosen and a surveying team led by Charles J. Howard was hard at work platting the new town. They completed their work in early December 1883, laying out 82 blocks for development.


title: Medford, Oregon

text: James Sullivan Howard, a merchant and surveyor, claimed to have built the town's first building in January 1884, though blacksmith Emil Piel was advertising for business at the "central depot" in the middle of December 1883.


title: Medford, Oregon

text: Others point out the farms of town founders Iradell Judson Phipps and Charles Wesley Broback, which were present before the town was platted. Regardless, on February 6, 1884 (less than a month after it was built), J. S. Howard's store became Medford's first post office, with Howard serving as postmaster. The establishment of the post office led to the incorporation of Medford as a town by the Oregon Legislative Assembly on February 24, 1885, and again as a city in 1905. Howard held the position of postmaster for Medford's first ten years, and again held the post upon his death on November 13, 1919.


title: Medford, Oregon

text: The beginning of the 20th century was a transitional period for the area. Medford built a new steel bridge over Bear Creek to replace an earlier one which washed away three years before. Without a bridge, those wanting to cross had to ford the stream, typically using a horse-drawn wagon; the first automobile did not arrive in Medford until 1903. Pharmacist George H. Haskins had opened a drugstore just after the town was platted, and in 1903 he allowed the Medford Library Association to open a small library in that store. Five years later the library moved to Medford's new city hall, in another four years, Andrew Carnegie's donation allowed a dedicated library to be built. Construction on the Medford Carnegie Library was completed in 1912.


title: Medford, Oregon

text: Between World War II and the 1960s, Medford had a reputation as a sundown town where African Americans and other nonwhites were not allowed to live or stay at night.


title: Medford, Oregon

text: In 1967, Interstate 5 was completed immediately adjacent to downtown Medford to replace the Oregon Pacific Highway. It has been blamed for the decline of small businesses in downtown Medford since its completion, but nevertheless remains an important route for commuters wishing to travel across the city. In fact, a study completed in 1999 found that 45% of vehicles entering I-5 from north Medford heading south exited in south Medford, just three miles (5 km) away.