New York Post, Tuesday, August 6, 2019nypost.comDivers Monday recovered
the body of a 15-year-old
swimmer who had been
missing for nearly 24 hours in
Jamaica Bay, according to po-
lice sources.
Maintain Joshua Odozi Jr.
was last seen struggling to
keep his head above water
Sunday evening in the waters
off Beach 88th Street and
Beach Channel Drive, ac-
cording to the NYPD.
“When they found him, he
was still stuck in the same
spot. The seaweed wrapped
around his leg and pulled him
down,” said Sherell Footman,
a family friend.
“They showed us a photo
of him and said we didn’t
even have to come, just start
preparing the funeral.”
A joint rescue effort by the
NYPD, FDNY and US Coast
Guard was called off after an
hours-long search came up
empty late on Sunday, ac-
cording to officials.
The search resumed Mon-
day morning, and investiga-
tors discovered the body in
the afternoon, according to
police sources.
Upon seeing the body, Ja-
keesha Wright, Odozi’s aunt,
fell to the ground screaming,
“No! No! No!”
“He’s a brilliant young
man,” she later told The Post.
“He never got into trouble, all
he wanted to do was school,
basketball and video games.”
Nick Fugallo ,Theo Wayt
Teen body
pulled
from bay
Sri Lankan police on
Monday arrested three
members of a banned Is-
lamic organization linked to
Easter Sunday suicide
bomb attacks that killed
more than 250 people, an
official said.
The three suspects, who
belong to the banned Is-
lamic organization Jamathei
Millathu Ibrahim, were ar-
rested in eastern Ampara
district, according to a po-
lice spokesman.
He said they are believed
to have received training
from ringleader Mohamed
Zahran, who blew himself
up at a tourist hotel on
April 21 as part of the coor-
dinated attacks. AP
Sri Lanka
bomb arrests
PURR-
LOINED OR
PURRJURY?
Rebecca Katz
(inset far left)
and Julie Ber-
man (inset
near left) are in
LI court Mon-
day over 15-
year-old Tig-
ger, after Katz
took him to
stop Berman
from putting
him down.Dennis A. ClarkBy LORENA MONGELLI
and NATALIE O’NEILLThe Long Island nanny who
swiped her boss’ elderly cat to
save him from euthanization may
get to keep the pet — with a judge
on Monday ordering her to come
back armed with medical records
as she fights for custody.
Russell and Julie Berman had
asked Nassau County Judge
Rhonda Fischer to force their kids’
former caregiver, Rebecca Katz, to
hand back 15-year-old tabby Tig-
ger — but the judge shot down the
request, saying she needs to re-
view the cat’s health status before
making a decision.
“Either this is worked out andwe decide who is going to get
custody of this cat... or medical
records show this cat is in pain
and suffering,” Fischer said, in-
structing both parties to return
on Aug. 14.
The judge didn’t elaborate on
whether a clean bill of health for
the cat would mean she’ll grant
Katz custody, or if other factors
were at stake.
Court documents previously
showed Julie Berman admitted
she intended to put Tigger down
due to “medical issues” before
Katz absconded with the feline
last month.
But the nanny’s attorney insisted
Monday the pet isn’t in pain.
“To turn this cat over to havethis cat euthanized... would be
more cruel,” lawyer Carolyn San-
chez told the judge.
Outside of the court, she added,
“From all indications, the Ber-
mans are relentlessly determined
to obtain the cat for the sole pur-
pose of having it euthanized.”
The Bermans declined to com-
ment.
Katz, who cared for the couple’s
two young children for years, said
she took Tigger after she arrived
for work on July 2 and learned
they wanted to end his life.
She claims they planned to give
him “the needle” because the pet
threw up on the family’s nice
couch.
Katz left behind a note that read,“I can’t let this happen.”
She was later charged with petit
larceny and released on probation
— but has so far kept possession
of Tigger.
The feline has had stomach
problems, possibly from a mass
that has yet to be diagnosed, ac-
cording to Katz, who claims she
has already spent more than
$1,000 on medical check-ups for
the feline that were “inconclusive”
of anything serious.
Tigger is still sweet and mostly
healthy, she said.
“I am willing to go to jail and
sleep with cockroaches over this,
because this animal has a right to
life,” she previously told The Post.
[email protected]Happy endings to B’klyn missing-kid ordeals
Two kids went missing in
Brooklyn on Monday, but
were later reunited with their
parents.
A 4-year-old girl was found
wandering alone on a street inGravesend in the morning.
She was discovered by a De-
partment of Environmental
Protection worker at around 9
a.m. on Shore Parkway and
27th Avenue near the CalvertVaux Playground in Graves-
end, police sources said.
Her mother was located by
police in the evening and the
two were reunited at a station
house.Also in the evening, a 1-year-
old boy went missing when
someone stole the white SUV
he was in, police said.
The Mitsubishi Outlander
was taken from Kingston Ave-nue near Dean Street in
Crown Heights at about 7
p.m., authorities said.
Police later found the vehi-
cle abandoned with the child
inside. Ben Feuerherd