News Nearby: Injured Vet Returns Home, Former Commack Mom Charged in Son's Murder

From Commack Patch: The mother of Commack graduate Gabriel Philby-Zetsche is not only being accused of murdering her son, but allegedly went to lengths in effort to cover it up, according to local police. Times Union reports that Lucy Rafa, landlord of the apartment 52-year-old Tracy Zetsche and her late son shared, said the former Commack mother refused to let her show the apartment to new potential tenants on July 26 - the day an autopsy revealed Philby-Zetsche was murdered. Philby-Zetsche, 22, a 2009 Commack High School graduate, His mother has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder.

From Kings Park Patch: After a few flight changes and travel delays, John Paradine finally had the chance to welcome home his son from a seven-month long deployment to Afghanistan. Paradine said it was not only the thrill of seeing him after so long, it was the relief of seeing him in one piece.Twenty-year-old Marine Lance Corporal Cory Paradine was deployed to Afghanistan in last year. During his time there, he was injured during an IED explosion. to read more.

From Miller Place-Rocky Point Patch: An endangered sea turtle was rescued in the Long Island Sound one mile north of Mt. Sinai Harbor Monday night with the assistance of the Suffolk County Police Marine Bureau. Marine Bureau Police Officers David Goldstein and Matthew Funaro received information from a boat via the VHF radio that a very large sea turtle was entangled in the lines of several lobster pots at 8:40 p.m Monday. Julika Wocial, Riverhead Foundation’s Rescue Program Supervisor and Kimberly Durham, Rescue Program Director, worked with the Marine Bureau officers for over three hours and eventually freed the turtle using lights, cutting tools and poles. to read more.

From Port Jefferson Patch: Life, according to Joe Edley, three-time National Scrabble Championship winner and Port Jefferson resident, is like a bag of tiles. His metaphor purposefully mirrors the one so famously quipped by Tom Hanks when he played a simple-minded man expounding folksy wisdom while inadvertently changing history. "Scrabble is so much like life," Edley, 64, when he was gunning for a fourth national title. "Learning how to play is like [that quote from] Forrest Gump, 'you never know what you're gonna get' when you put your hand in the bag of tiles." This year, Edley will be trying again to capture his elusive fourth Scrabble championship. First he’ll have to get passed Nigel Richards, the current national and world champion who will be there defending his title. to read more.

From Hauppauge Patch: Rev. Monsignor Francis Midura died suddenly on Monday night. He had been leading St. Thomas More Roman Catholic Church for more than nine years. Midura dedicated his life to serving the local community, as leader of St. Thomas More and fire chaplain with the Hauppauge Fire Department. In, Midura said he received his calling to enter the priesthood at age 13 or 14 while he was attending Catholic school. He entered the seminary high school in 1958 and was ordained in 1970. at 11 a.m. to read more.