Exterminator

SHE COULD COUNT her success by the number of lives she had saved. He could count his by the number of lives he claimed. She dealt with the most vulnerable. He dealt with the most reviled. But the paths of Melissa Ketunuti, a doctor at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and Jason Smith, an exterminator from Bucks County, crossed on Monday when Smith went to Ketunuti's Center City house to help her with a rodent problem. It was there, police say, in the basement of Ketunuti's home following an argument, that Smith killed the doctor as if her life mattered no more than the bugs and rodents he'd made a living exterminating.

There are three types of rats, in case you did not know. A guy who does is Harry Hermann, and he says there are "alphas, betas and omegas. " The omegas are not too bright and will eat just about anything; betas are the rats' middle class, and then there are the alphas. "They're the kings and queens," said Hermann, an exterminator for Terminix International Inc. in Cherry Hill. "They're a very tightknit social organization. " It is Hermann's job to disrupt those social organizations by killing the rats.

Philadelphia pediatrician Melissa Ketunuti was killed after she questioned the competence of the exterminator sent to rid her rowhouse of mice. That's what Jason Smith - who allegedly strangled Ketunuti - told detectives in a teary five-page Jan. 24 confession. Smith's statement was read Wednesday at a preliminary hearing where Smith was held for trial on murder, arson, and related charges by Philadelphia Municipal Court Judge Teresa Carr Deni. "She said that I shouldn't be an exterminator, that I didn't know what I was doing," said Smith, 37, of Levittown, in a statement read by homicide detective Edward Tolliver.

A Bryn Mawr family who hired an exterminator to get rid of termites says the exterminator got rid of them instead, according to a lawsuit filed in Delaware County Court. The suit, filed last Friday, contends that the exterminator sprayed so much pesticide that the entire family fell ill. The five McElhineys had to leave their home on the 100 block of Clemson Road a year ago and have not been able to return, the suit says. The family is accusing Jones Termite and Pest Control of Broomall of fraud, negligence and outrageous conduct.

The borough has a problem on its hands - actually, on its roofs - and the council is calling in . . . the exterminator. Councilwoman Pat Barr told the Borough Council on Tuesday that pigeons have been nesting and leaving droppings on roofs along Moorehead Avenue. The council, which normally finds things to disagree about, unanimously decided to curb the pigeon population. It called an exterminator. "They're creating a terrible mess," said Herb Seiders, referring to the pigeons.

Martin Overline doesn't like to brag, so he leaves it to others to say what he will not: He ranks among the best mouse men on the East Coast. He doesn't breed mice or collect them for study. He kills them. Sends them on their furry, four-footed journey to that giant mousetrap in the sky. And metes out similar fates to other creeping, crawling pests. In Philadelphia, Overline is an exterminator extraordinaire, the go-to, get-rid-of-'em guy for some of the region's major universities, corporations, and government agencies.

She had an exterminator coming. Mice in the basement. Melissa Ketunuti hurried home through the morning cold, walking quickly the short distance from a parking garage to her Graduate Hospital-area rowhouse. A busy morning already. A work meeting at the hospital, errands. She clutched a CVS bag. Pooch, her black pit-bull/Lab mix of six years, would have greeted her at the door. Moments later, a tall, thin man wearing a NorthFace jacket and work gloves, carrying a work bag, walked onto the street, heading toward Ketunuti's home, out of camera view.

A Bucks County exterminator has been held for trial on murder charges in the January strangulation of Philadelphia pediatrician Melissa Ketunuti. Philadelphia Municipal Court Judge Teresa Carr Deni ordered Jason Smith, 37, of Levittown, to stand trial on a general count of murder, arson and related charges in the Jan. 21 death of Ketunuti, a pediatrician and researcher at Philadelphia's Children's Hospital. The body of Ketunuti, 35, was found on fire in the basement of her Graduate Hospital-area rowhouse by a dog walker who arrived to walk Ketunuti's dog. Philadelphia Police Homicide Det. Henry Glenn testified that Ketunuti was wearing riding boots and her hands had been bound behind her with a leather strap from horse gear.

She had an exterminator coming. Mice in the basement. Melissa Ketunuti hurried home through the morning cold, walking quickly the short distance from a parking garage to her Graduate Hospital-area rowhouse. A busy morning already. A work meeting at the hospital, errands. She clutched a CVS bag. Pooch, her black pit-bull/Lab mix of six years, would have greeted her at the door. Moments later, a tall, thin man wearing a NorthFace jacket and work gloves, carrying a work bag, walked onto the street, heading toward Ketunuti's home, out of camera view.

THEY WERE the last words a Center City pediatrician ever spoke: "Please stop, please stop. I'm sorry. I'll do whatever you want. " That's according to the confession from Jason Smith, 37, the Bucks County exterminator arrested in the Jan. 21 slaying of Dr. Melissa Ketunuti. His statement to police was read aloud at his preliminary hearing Wednesday, after which Municipal Judge Teresa Carr Deni ordered Smith to stand trial for murder, abuse of a corpse and related offenses. Smith, of Levittown, told homicide detectives that he had gone to Ketunuti's home on Naudain Street near 17th to exterminate mice but that he got into an argument with the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia pediatrician while explaining the problem in the basement.

Philadelphia pediatrician Melissa Ketunuti was killed after she questioned the competence of the exterminator sent to rid her rowhouse of mice. That's what Jason Smith - who allegedly strangled Ketunuti - told detectives in a teary five-page Jan. 24 confession. Smith's statement was read Wednesday at a preliminary hearing where Smith was held for trial on murder, arson, and related charges by Philadelphia Municipal Court Judge Teresa Carr Deni. "She said that I shouldn't be an exterminator, that I didn't know what I was doing," said Smith, 37, of Levittown, in a statement read by homicide detective Edward Tolliver.

THEY WERE the last words a Center City pediatrician ever spoke: "Please stop, please stop. I'm sorry. I'll do whatever you want. " That's according to the confession from Jason Smith, 37, the Bucks County exterminator arrested in the Jan. 21 slaying of Dr. Melissa Ketunuti. His statement to police was read aloud at his preliminary hearing Wednesday, after which Municipal Judge Teresa Carr Deni ordered Smith to stand trial for murder, abuse of a corpse and related offenses. Smith, of Levittown, told homicide detectives that he had gone to Ketunuti's home on Naudain Street near 17th to exterminate mice but that he got into an argument with the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia pediatrician while explaining the problem in the basement.

A Bucks County exterminator has been held for trial on murder charges in the January strangulation of Philadelphia pediatrician Melissa Ketunuti. Philadelphia Municipal Court Judge Teresa Carr Deni ordered Jason Smith, 37, of Levittown, to stand trial on a general count of murder, arson and related charges in the Jan. 21 death of Ketunuti, a pediatrician and researcher at Philadelphia's Children's Hospital. The body of Ketunuti, 35, was found on fire in the basement of her Graduate Hospital-area rowhouse by a dog walker who arrived to walk Ketunuti's dog. Philadelphia Police Homicide Det. Henry Glenn testified that Ketunuti was wearing riding boots and her hands had been bound behind her with a leather strap from horse gear.

Investigators in the killing of Center City pediatrician Melissa Ketunuti are trying to determine whether her accused killer, Jason Smith, is linked to any other crimes in the area. Police are using national crime data, reaching out to other departments, and searching DNA databases to see whether Smith might be a suspect in any unsolved crimes. After police raided his Levittown home Wednesday night, Smith, a 36-year-old exterminator, was charged with the murder of Ketunuti, 35, a pediatrician and researcher at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

The family of slain Children's Hospital of Philadelphia doctor Melissa Ketunuti released a statement today, the family's first public comments on her killing. Ketunuti was found strangled and set on fire in her Southwest Center City rowhome on Monday. On Thursday, a Bucks County exterminator was charged with murder and abuse of a corpse in her death. The statement from 35-year-old pediatrician's family, released to the Inquirer, says: "The family and friends of Melissa Ketunuti are devastated by this senseless act of violence that has ended the life of someone who was so loved, cherished and admired.

She had an exterminator coming. Mice in the basement. Melissa Ketunuti hurried home through the morning cold, walking quickly the short distance from a parking garage to her Graduate Hospital-area rowhouse. A busy morning already. A work meeting at the hospital, errands. She clutched a CVS bag. Pooch, her black pit-bull/Lab mix of six years, would have greeted her at the door. Moments later, a tall, thin man wearing a NorthFace jacket and work gloves, carrying a work bag, walked onto the street, heading toward Ketunuti's home, out of camera view.

Developer Ori Feibush half believed he might run into Melissa Ketunuti's killer on the street Wednesday afternoon. Feibush, who owns the OCF Coffee House at 18th and South streets, was one of just a few people who had seen the face of the man who, late Monday morning,  allegedly killed Ketunuti, a doctor at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia who lived around the corner from his shop. After days of poring through surveillance video from his coffee shop and other cameras he owns in the area, Feibush realized around 3 p.m. Wednesday that he had clear video of Jason Smith, a 36-year-old exterminator who was taken into custody for Ketunuti's murder at his Bucks County home Wednesday night.

She had an exterminator coming. Mice in the basement. Melissa Ketunuti hurried home through the morning cold, walking quickly the short distance from a parking garage to her Graduate Hospital-area rowhouse. A busy morning already. A work meeting at the hospital, errands. She clutched a CVS bag. Pooch, her black pit-bull/Lab mix of six years, would have greeted her at the door. Moments later, a tall, thin man wearing a NorthFace jacket and work gloves, carrying a work bag, walked onto the street, heading toward Ketunuti's home, out of camera view.

SHE COULD COUNT her success by the number of lives she had saved. He could count his by the number of lives he claimed. She dealt with the most vulnerable. He dealt with the most reviled. But the paths of Melissa Ketunuti, a doctor at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and Jason Smith, an exterminator from Bucks County, crossed on Monday when Smith went to Ketunuti's Center City house to help her with a rodent problem. It was there, police say, in the basement of Ketunuti's home following an argument, that Smith killed the doctor as if her life mattered no more than the bugs and rodents he'd made a living exterminating.

LEBANON, Ky. - Ernie Brown's search for dangerous snapping turtles in a central Kentucky pond ends in a swirl of muddy water and loud whooping sounds, his bare hands clutching one of the angry, armored reptiles. "Wooh, man - they feisty today!" Brown shouts, breathing heavily on a hot day in mid-May. Brown says he has spent four decades turtle trapping, earning him the nickname "Turtleman" around his hometown of Lebanon, which is nestled near the heart of Kentucky's bourbon country.