HARRISBURG — Ralph J. Cappy said Tuesday he will step down as chief justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court at the end of the year, closing a tumultuous five-year span during which he fought for a judicial pay increase and the high court upheld the legalization of slot machines.

Cappy, 64, said he is retiring six years before the mandatory retirement age for Pennsylvania judges because he wants to spend more time with his family and pursue personal interests.

"It is a decision made for personal reasons and after thoughtful consideration," he said in a statement.

The justice with the most seniority, Ronald Castille, will succeed Cappy as chief of the seven-member panel. Castille, 63, a Republican former district attorney of Philadelphia, joined the court in 1994.

Cappy, a Democrat from Pittsburgh, was an Allegheny County judge before joining the Supreme Court in 1990. He has served as chief justice since Jan. 1, 2003, and presides over a panel with four Republicans and three Democrats.

HARRISBURG — Several hundred sex offenders had not registered as required, and some are still missing, according to the first audit of the Pennsylvania Megan's Law by the state Attorney General's Office.Many other records also were improperly kept and had to be revised to reflect the Megan's Law conviction, the audit said.The audit found that 369 released offenders were obliged to register but had not, although 47 were dead and in 11 cases the county prosecutor declined to pursue the process to compel registration.In 18 cases, there are outstanding warrants for defendants who did not register.The audit covered a 10-year period ending in December 2005, but in future years it will be conducted annually.In 401 cases, a sex-offense conviction was not properly recorded in the offender's files, but 335 were in prison or jail — and so not yet required to register.

HARRISBURG — An insect-borne virus may have killed more than 1,000 deer in southwestern Pennsylvania this year, and officials said it appears to have struck earlier and wider than previously.The state Game Commission said Tuesday epizootic hemorrhagic disease has been confirmed in a third Pennsylvania county, Beaver, and tests are being performed to see if it has reached Allegheny, Cambria or Westmoreland counties.The disease had previously been identified throughout Greene County and in several Washington County townships.Deer decompose quickly, making it difficult to know precisely how many have died from the outbreak, but a fatality figure of more than 1,000 is suggested by reports from the public and observations by staff members, the commission said.The state wants to hear from people in southwestern Pennsylvania who encounter dead deer. The carcasses need to be tested within 24 hours.