Brain Damage

William Lawlis Pace, 103, who held the Guinness World Record for living the longest with a bullet in his head, died in his sleep Monday at a Turlock, Calif., nursing home. His death came 94 years and six months after his older brother accidentally shot him with their father's .22-caliber rifle in 1917. Mr. Pace learned in 2006 that he had been crowned the world record-holder in the category of unwanted cranial ammunition. His son told a newspaper during a birthday party for his father last year that doctors in Mr. Pace's native Texas left the bullet in place because they worried that surgery might cause brain damage.

In a low but steady voice, Donte Johnson on Monday rejected an offer from the District Attorney's Office to plead guilty and receive a life-without-parole prison sentence in the June 2010 rape and murder of Sabina Rose O'Donnell, the 20-year-old Northern Liberties woman whose slaying behind her apartment building rocked the trendy community. Johnson, 20, of 11th Street near Poplar, rejected the same offer in December 2010, when city prosecutors were talking about seeking the death penalty against him. They've since opted not to pursue the death penalty, which means Johnson, ironically, would face a life sentence if a jury finds him guilty of first-degree murder.

A man yesterday said in court yesterday that he fondled himself in plain view of adolescent girls at an area elementary school and swim club, actions that his attorney attributed to too many bean balls. Before Charles P. Catalano, 27, of Lumberton, began staking out areas frequented by pubescent girls, he sustained several concussions by being struck in the head by baseballs while batting in community leagues, said defense attorney John Call Jr. Because of the location and number of the impacts, Call said a neurologist determined that Catalano had sustained brain damage.

A 31-year-old Bucks County man who had been left a quadriplegic and unable to speak after falling 20 feet while walking on a rock path on Conrail property in Kensington has won a $30 million judgment against Conrail. Thomas Hird was walking along a well-known path used by local residents in September 1994 when he stumbled, lost his footing, and fell on his head. He suffered brain damage. He cannot use his legs or arms. Conrail's lawyer, Thomas F. Reilly, contended that Hird was a trespasser.

FINDING MR. RIGHT Women, it's not just stating the obvious to say the success of a live-in relationship is a 50-50 proposition. Half of women who have ever lived with an unmarried partner are still involved in the relationship, according to federal statistics reported in American Demographics magazine. Forty percent are now married to their partners, the magazine says. MENINGITIS TREATMENT Good news, parents: The steroid drug dexamethasone can dramatically reduce the risks associated with bacterial meningitis, which can cause brain damage.

The 63-year-old reputed slumlord leaned back in a soft chair at the bar of the court, closed his eyes and appeared to be dozing off. John Gray's lawyer, Ronald Greenblatt, stood next to him, explaining to Common Pleas Judge Carolyn E. Temin that Gray is suffering from brain damage, and is incompetent to stand trial on murder charges. Gray, of Lawnside, N.J., faces six counts of third-degree murder for the fire deaths of tenants in his West Philadelphia apartment building on April 5, 1997.

A Lindenwold man was charged with murder yesterday in the death of his 2 1/2-year-old son, who died Friday after being hospitalized with brain injuries for nearly two years. Authorities allege that Richard Dutson 3d, 28, of the Linden Hill Apartments, caused the brain damage by shaking his only child, Richard Dutson 4th, who died at the Voorhees Pediatric Center. Dutson was being held in Camden County Jail after arraignment in Camden County Superior Court. Bail was set at $250,000.

A Massachusetts truck driver who caused a fiery, 13-vehicle crash in September on the Schuylkill Expressway that killed three young people will not be charged with a crime, Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce L. Castor Jr. said yesterday. Castor said an investigation had shown that Walter Seifert, 64, was unaware that he had a brain disorder that clouded his judgment at the time of the accident. He did not identify the type of disorder. "The MRI revealed brain damage in his recent past that resulted from a lack of oxygen," Castor said.

DEAR ABBY: I'm convinced my father's wife killed him and I don't know where to turn. I'm pretty sure it was assisted suicide, which is illegal in most states, including the state where he lived. I feel cheated and angry at my father's wife for not having the guts to talk to us about his plans, and Dad for relying on her to tell us when she never had a good relationship with any of us. It has been several years now, and I still feel guilty for letting it happen, although I'm not sure how I could have stopped it. Your thoughts would be appreciated.

Roy Jones Jr. and Riddick Bowe see their respective fights tonight as new beginnings. "It starts right here," Jones said of tonight's fight against IBF light-heavyweight champion Glen Johnson in Memphis, Tenn. Bowe also believes that tonight's bout against club fighter Marcus Rhode in Shawnee, Okla., will lead him toward the heavyweight title again, but others believe he could suffer brain damage - or worse. "For him to be allowed to fight is a prescription for disaster," former manager Rock Newman said.