Killer convicted in Leiliana Wright case, Cruz hits O'Rourke on Israel, AT&T battles outages: Your Monday evening roundup

October 15,  2018 By Wayne Carter Good evening! Here is a look at the top headlines of the day. Prefer the online view? It's [here](. Brian Maker, father of Leiliana Wright, was in the courtroom when Charles Phifer was found guilty of capital murder in Leiliana's death Monday at the Frank Crowley Courts Building in Dallas. (Ashley Landis/Staff Photographer) crime and courts 'You should die in a locked closet,' judge tells man convicted in savage beating death of 4-year-old A Grand Prairie man was convicted of capital murder in the "savage" beating death of his girlfriend's 4-year-old child in a case the judge said was the worst he'd ever seen. Charles Wayne Phifer, 36, [received an automatic life sentence without the possibility of parole for the March 2016 murder of Leiliana Wright](, his girlfriend's daughter. Leiliana was beaten to death with a bamboo switch, belts and thrown against a wall. Her mother, 33-year-old Jeri Quezada, pleaded guilty to felony injury to a child as part of a plea agreement that will lock her behind bars for 50 years. Leiliana's death [exposed a staffing crisis in Child Protective Services](. The girl's paternal grandparents reported possible abuse to the state agency months before she was killed. Officer arrested: A Dallas police officer taken into custody on a felony abuse charge in Royse City [is accused of hitting her daughter and choking her son.]( Commentary: The Texas Juvenile Justice Department is making great changes, [and 17-year-old inmates should benefit, too](, write Emily Mooney and Nila Bala. politics Cruz hits O’Rourke for voting no on funds for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense – but he did, too Sen. Ted Cruz asserts that Rep. Beto O’Rourke has “the most anti-Israel record of any Senate Democratic candidate.” To back up the claim, he points to one particular vote against funding for Iron Dome, a defense system that lets Israel knock down rockets raining down from Gaza and elsewhere. The allegation may surface in Tuesday night’s debate in San Antonio, devoted in part to foreign policy. [But Cruz’s allegation is oversimplified.]( O’Rourke has voted to fund Iron Dome numerous times, but opposed funding one particular time. And the senator has voted four times himself against larger measures that provided funds for Iron Dome. Commentary: [Would you rather be Ted Cruz or Beto O'Rourke]( as Senate race hits the stretch? Editorial: A mailer comparing Trump to Hitler is [John Wiley Price’s greatest gift to Republicans.]( Business Internet outages hit D-FW AT&T customers after lightning strike, fire at Richardson facility Reports flowed into Dallas-based AT&T's customer service Monday [about an internet outage centered on the Dallas-Fort Worth area.]( AT&T spokeswoman Diane Brandon issued a statement early Monday afternoon saying: "Damage caused by a fire at one of our facilities may be affecting internet services for some of our customers in the Dallas area. We are working to restore service as quickly as possible." The AT&T customer service Twitter account blamed the fire on a "direct lightning strike." Hitting the ceiling: D-FW homeowners [won't see much home price growth next year.]( Giant stumbles: Sears, where America shopped for everything for decades, [filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday.]( (Vernon Bryant/Staff Photographer) Photo of the Day Water from rain-swollen White Rock Lake tumbles over the spillway Monday as Bryan Alvizures of Garland strolls along nearby under the protection of an umbrella. A cold front [that sent temperatures plunging into the 40s overnight]( also drenched the Dallas-Fort Worth area with heavy rain.  editors' picks - Freeway pileup: One person was killed and seven more were injured [when a minivan plowed into a jackknifed 18-wheeler]( on I-20 in Willow Park. - Making news: A man who tried to carjack a Houston TV news van Monday [made his getaway in a stolen police cruiser with a handcuffed 16-year-old inside.]( - Head 'em out: Chef Stephan Pyles' Stampede 66 restaurant [is closing in Dallas and moving to Allen.]( - Pedestrian death: A man was hit while trying to cross a South Dallas freeway [after his car got stuck in a muddy median.]( - Travel: Setting sail on your first cruise? [Avoid these common mistakes.]( - Less than stellar: Bruno Mars [covered the "24K Magic" hits, but failed to strike gold]( at his Dallas concert Sunday night, says Thor Christensen. - Smell test: Here's how to tell the difference [between good stink bugs and bad stink bugs.]( Finally... Dallas is closing a loophole to keep guns away from domestic abusers [From Metro columnist Sharon Grigsby:]( For domestic abuse victims, the city is drawing a new battle line. By the end of October, municipal courts will begin reporting to the state the identities and fingerprints of all people who are found guilty or plead no contest to Class C misdemeanor family violence charges. These incidents are the lowest-level offenses. Class C cases involve verbal threats or physical contact that did not result in visible injury. No one walks away with more than a $500 ticket. About 2,200 such cases came through the Dallas courts in the last three to four years. The state will forward the information to the FBI for its National Crime Information Center, the database for background checks to obtain a firearm. This isn’t part of some new restriction — it’s what Second Amendment advocates have long advocated: [enforcing the laws that are already on the books.]( [Subscribe to our Real Estate newsletter]( 👋 That's all for this evening! For up-to-the-minute news and analysis, check out [DallasNews.com](. Share the love! If you like this newsletter, please [check out our other newsletters here](. Do you have feedback? Send your thoughts, questions, praise and corrections to [newsletter-feedback@dallasnews.com](mailto:newsletter-feedback@dallasnews.com?subject=Evening%20Roundup%20Feedback).[Dennis Jansen](mailto:djansen@dallasnews.com?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback) STAY CONNECTED WITH US  [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Twitter]( [LinkedIn]( [Reddit](  [OTHER NEWSLETTERS]( [SUBSCRIPTION OPTIONS]( [Unsubscribe](  |  [Manage Preferences](  |  [Privacy Policy](  |  [Contact](  |  [Advertise]( You received this message because you signed up for this Dallas Morning News newsletter or it was forwarded to you. Copyright 2018 - [The Dallas Morning News]( | [1954 Commerce St., Dallas, TX 75201](#)