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VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) -- The beginning of a trial for Joseph Merlino III on Tuesday could mean an end to his two-month hunger strike.Merlino is accused of killing his ex-girlfriend 35-year-old Ellie Tran by injecting her with cyanide last Valentine's Day. He was charged with second-degree murder after hazmat crews spent two days going through dangerous substances inside his house.He has been in jail now for a little over a year and has not eaten anything in more than 60 days.Merlino says he is innocent."What's it like to being held for 15 months for something I didn't do? The pain and anguish over the loss of a loved one I can't even put into words," Merlino said.Sheriff Ken Stolle wants to force feed him to keep him alive. Stolle says staff must check on Merlino  every 15 minutes and it's costing taxpayers $100,000 a week for care.Stolle can't force feed him until a judge gives him permission.10 On Your Side will coverage of the trial later today. Stay tuned for more coverage.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va, (WAVY) -- A newly formed anti-violence group is hoping to not only speak up against forms of violence in Hampton Roads, but also send students to college. Shana Turner founded Hampton Roads Mothers Against Senseless Killings (MASK) in March, three months after her 25-year-old son Shaquille Turner was murdered in Norfolk. Her goal is to spread awareness, educate and heal the effects of senseless violence, according to her website."Lets put a stop to the violence that is happening and speak out on it," Turner said. "That's how this came about."The group has begun to travel to vigils and communities affected by violence throughout Hampton Roads. However, they are also scheduling their own fundraising events. "Our goal is to bless 3 students, 2 from Hampton Roads and one from the Eastern Shore of Virginia with a $500 scholarship," Turner said. "Knowledge is power and Shaquille always encouraged people to be successful." You can look at the upcoming events on the group's website here. 

DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Troubled rapper-singer XXXTentacion was shot and killed Monday in Florida in what police called an apparent robbery attempt.The 20-year-old rising star, whose real name is Jahseh Dwayne Onfroy, was pronounced dead Monday evening at a Fort Lauderdale-area hospital, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said. He was shot earlier outside a Deerfield Beach motorcycle dealership.XXXTentacion had been at RIVA Motorsports checking out inventory, sheriff’s public information officer Keyla Concepcion said. He was in a black BMW i8 and preparing to leave before 4 p.m. when two armed suspects approached him. At least one of them fired, and then both suspects fled the scene in a dark SUV, Concepcion said. Investigators don’t have a motive, and no arrests have been made.Stephanie Martinez, a 29-year-old mother who lives in the neighborhood, was just coming back from the pool with her kids when she heard three shots. She drove to the end of the street and saw the rapper’s body in the car.“He has his mouth open and his hand out. Two people went over and checked his pulse,” said Martinez, who also saw blood. “It’s just weird because he should’ve had security and stuff with him.”On Twitter, his peers expressed shock and sadness.Kanye West said: “rest in peace ... I never told you how much you inspired me when you were here thank you for existing.” Producer Diplo posted a photo of the two together and said, “Thanks for inspiring me.” Travis Barker tweeted: “I’m at a loss for words... speechless #RIPXXXTentacion Loved collaborating with you. You were a true artist ...”And J. Cole said, in part: “RIP X. Enormous talent and limitless potential and a strong desire to be a better person. God bless his family, friends and fans.”The entertainer, who sported dreadlocks and a number of facial tattoos, was a rising star and notched a No. 1 album in March with his sophomore effort “?? and had a top 10 hit with “Sad!” but was facing trial on charges that he beat up his pregnant girlfriend.XXXTentacion racked up huge streaming numbers — on Spotify, his “Sad!” had more than 270 million streams and was on its Top 50 chart this week in the United States and globally. He also has several songs that have been declared platinum, including “Changes,” ?Roll in Peace” with fellow rapper Kodak Black and “Look at Me!”In interview with XXL magazine, which named him an up-and-coming artist last year, the rapper cited Nirvana, the Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur among his musical influences.“Obviously, I’m one of the greatest of this generation, the upcoming generation, as far as artistry. ... And I say that humbly,” he said in a video interview with the outlet last year.But much of his brief career had been mired in controversy. In 2016, he was arrested on charges including home invasion for a 2015 incident, and less than a month later was arrested on charges that he attacked his girlfriend, who was pregnant at the time, and was jailed, and later faced more charges including witness tampering.Regarding a June 2017 attack at a San Diego concert, the following messages were posted on XXXTentacion’s Twitter account: “security and venue set me up, I got sucker punched and knocked out, it is what it is.”A subsequent tweet said,” ?next time make sure you kill me so I can’t talk (expletive).”He was released from jail on house arrest late last year and was released from house arrest earlier this year to allow him to tour.Fan Wyatt Rubin, 21, jumped in his car and headed to the scene shooting Monday as soon as he heard, playing the rapper’s songs like “Jocelyn Flores” and “King” on the drive over.“He was just maturing as a person and as an artist ... it couldn’t have come at a worse time,” Rubin said. “A lot of it was really beautiful music, progressive music.’”In an interview earlier this month with the Miami New Times, XXXTentacion described his upbringing, which included seeing his mother infrequently and being raised by friends, other family and babysitters. His mother would buy him clothes, phones and other gifts. He told the paper he used violence so she would engage with him.“I used to beat kids at school just to get her to talk to me, yell at me,” he said.XXXTentacion was initially one of two artists Spotify removed from its promoted playlists in May in accordance with its new policy on hateful music and conduct. But after a backlash in the music industry, Spotify backpedaled and said it would no longer attempt to police conduct and restored XXXTentacion to its playlists (although they did not do the same for R. Kelly).While he made headlines for his legal woes, he connected to millions of fans musically. Among the topics he spoke about was depression and addressed it in his music.In one video posted to social media, he said: “If worse things come to worse, I (expletive) die a tragic death or some (expletive), and I’m not able to see out my dreams, I at least want to know that the kids perceive my message and were able to make something of themselves.”He continued later: “I appreciate and love all of you and I believe in you all; do not let your depression make you, do not let your body define your soul, let your soul define your body. Your mind is limitless ....you are worth more than you can believe.”

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) -- There were two natural gas pipeline explosions across the U.S. in the last two weeks, and that has some Virginia residents on edge about the construction of the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline.Norfolk businessman Bob Wilson bought a Wintergreen Resort home with peace of mind that Wintergreen is a safe place for his family and for him.He doesn't feel that way now since Dominion Energy chose a route for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline that is at the only entrance and exit on and off the mountain resort.Keep in mind that on June 7 in Moundsville, West Virginia, there was a newly installed natural gas pipeline that shot flames into the sky that could be seen for miles. Eight days later there was another natural gas pipeline explosion that rocked rural Kansas. There were huge flames that shot 100 feet into the air.Bob Wilson, who was playing Shipwreck Putt-Putt at Motor World with his grandson, Hunter, thinks about those explosions a lot."My grandson likes to ski Wintergreen. What is going to happen, if we have an accident up there and we can't get out?"If you look at pictures of the only main entrance and exit on and off the mountain, there are cut down trees that are near the entrance off Wintergreen, and those chopped down trees are the path of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline."When they say it can't happen here, and then it happens within weeks of each other, the probability is it is going to happen, and it's just a matter of when," Wilson said.If you look closely at the pictures, the pipeline is in the blast zone of Wintergreen Resort's police, fire, and 911 emergency call centers.Officials say the blast zone stretches 1,100 feet from where the gas line will be buried. 10 On Your Side asked Dominion Energy about that. Spokesperson Aaron Ruby said, "Those pipelines operate every single day in close proximity to our schools, hospitals, police, and fire stations all across Virginia, and they operate safely 99.9 percent of the time."   Wilson's attorney Brian Kunze with the Waldo Lyle Law Firm said, "This is right next to a 42" gas pipeline. It is an unsafe situation that Dominion has put on the Property Owner's Association," Kunze added.  "If you want to get into a little more detail, they are going under the Blue Ridge Parkway because any other spot they would have to get Congressional approval because it is going through the George Washington National Forrest ... this one spot they only need the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service."10 On Your Side also asked Ruby about those two pipeline ruptures destroying Bob Wilson's peace of mind, "We are going to pay very close attention to them as they are investigating the cause of these recent pipeline incidents.  We want to know if there are lessons we can learn and apply to our own pipeline system to make it even safer,  and less likely to have these kind of incidents," Ruby added.By the way, Bob Wilson is no stranger to eminent domain. He beat ODU in court, stopping the taking of his property near the campus, and now he has a new foe, Dominion Energy. 10 On Your Side asked Wilson what is it about Wilson and eminent domain?  "I don't know," he said with a laugh.  He then continued, "They say lightning can't strike twice, but here I am, again, fighting eminent domain.  I hope with the same results," Wilson added.Here's what Bob Wilson's homeowner's association wants from Dominion Energy:They want the buildings in the blast zone moved to a safer location. They then want an emergency evacuation route constructed away from where the pipeline is.  This case is set to be heard next April.