RICHMOND, VA (WWBT)- If someone violently beat and murdered your mother, could you honestly find it in your heart to truly forgive the killer?

That's exactly what happened to a VCU professor. He lost his mother and eventually his brother to a brutal crime. He had to learn to live the message he preaches every day.

For years, Everett Worthington lectured and even wrote book after book about letting go of grudges and bitterness.

"There's great power in forgiveness," said Worthington.

His theory was put the ultimate personal test New Year's Day, 1996.

"There was blood all over the walls. There was blood on the floor." 

His 76-year-old mother, Frances Worthington, was sexually violated and murdered in Knoxville, Tennessee.

"It was a pretty horrific scene. A very gruesome and upsetting sight. One that I just will never forget."

Police believe this started as burglary, but quickly turned barbaric.

These days practically everyone has a cell phone, and it goes everywhere you do.

But that also means it's picking up every germ you encounter, too.

"I carry my cell phone around," said dermatologist Dr. Laci Theunissen. "It's in my purse, my children are playing with it. I bring it to the bathroom sometimes, multi-tasking."

And that means some nasty little organisms may be hitchhiking from an unsanitary surface to your face.

"A lot of people don't think about it," Theunissen said.

To find out just what is lurking on that surface, cell phones were taken to a lab.

The phones were swabbed and the swabs were incubated for three days at 37 degrees Celsius - roughly body temperature - to see what would grow.

Streptococcus, as in strep throat, and staphylococcus, as in staph infection, along with a few other types of bacteria were found on all the phones we tested.

But there is good news.

Summer Session at Randolph-Macon College is your opportunity to explore a new subject, fill a credit need, complete a prerequisite, engage in close work with faculty members, pursue interests including independent research or internships, or begin your college experience.

 R-MC’s Summer Session offers two overlapping sessions and students may register for classes in either or both sessions. 

Session I: Wednesday, June 5 – Thursday, July 18 (Final Exam: Friday, July 19)*

Session II: Monday, June 24 – Thursday, July 18 (Final Exam: Friday, July 19)*

*Classes will not be held on Thursday, July 4

Click on Summer Session at R-MC for all the details!