Across the Southeast

Police say man gave false information

BATON ROUGE, LA. --- A man has been charged with giving false information to authorities investigating the killings of two graduate students at Louisiana State University, police said Thursday.

Police said Dallas Joseph Staden, 22, called authorities anonymously Dec. 17 and said he had direct knowledge about the killings and named several possible suspects, including himself.

Mr. Staden, of Baton Rouge, was arrested Dec. 21 on an unrelated warrant and remains in East Baton Rouge Parish prison, Baton Rouge Police Department Sgt. Don Kelly said. He was charged with criminal mischief.

Chandrasekhar Reddy Komma, 31, and Kiran Kumar Allam, 33, both from India, were found shot in the head Dec. 13.

-- Edited from wire reports