Briefly... CITY/REGION

Man arrested in slaying of professor

A Germantown man was in custody last night in connection with the stabbing death of a retired Villanova astronomy professor, police said.

Jose Diaz, 42, of Hansberry Street near Greene, was arrested yesterday in connection with the killing of Carol Ambruster.

Ambruster, 69, was found in her apartment on Wayne Avenue near School House Lane in Germantown Dec. 9. with multiple stab wounds to her chest and neck. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Diaz was charged with murder and related offenses.

Jury awards nearly $43M for malpractice

A Philadelphia jury yesterday handed down one of the biggest medical-malpractice verdicts ever in the state when it awarded $42.9 million for future medical expenses to a child born with cerebral palsy.

The Common Pleas jury determined that the child, who is now 6, received "substandard medical treatment" at Chestnut Hill Hospital from a University of Pennsylvania doctor after she was born prematurely there July 4, 2007, according to a news release from law firm Kline & Specter.

Attorneys said the little girl's mother had shown up at Chestnut Hill Hospital two days before she was born complaining of pelvic pressure, but was not admitted or administered any medication to protect her baby's development.

Grisly discovery along the Delaware River

Police were investigating the circumstances surrounding remains believed to belong to a human found in Fishtown's Penn Treaty Park along the Delaware River yesterday morning.

Police were called to the park, tucked off of Delaware Avenue between the river and Interstate 95, just before 11 a.m. after someone came upon the remains. It was unclear last night exactly what had been found.

Armed student leads to lockdown at Mastbaum

A gun-wielding student robbed one of his classmates yesterday, prompting a lockdown at the Jules E. Mastbaum Area Vocational Technical School in Kensington, police said.

The incident happened just before 3 p.m., according to Officer Tanya Little, apolice spokeswoman. The gunman, wearing a mask, was one of three who accosted the victim. An electronic device was taken in the robbery and no one was injured.

Man dead after being shot nine times

An man died yesterday after being shot multiple times in Overbrook, police said.

The victim, 26, was shot nine times: once in the head, once in the back, twice in his right hand, once in the buttocks and four times in both legs. He was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was pronounced dead at 9:44 p.m., said Officer Tanya Little said, a police spokeswoman.

The shooting happened at 8:36 p.m. at Lansdowne Avenue near Allison Street. Another male, 24, was shot once in the left leg and taken to Penn in stable condition.

No arrests had been made, and no information on a motive was available.

-Vinny Vella and staff reports